GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 



AFRICA, 

ITS RIVERS, LAKES, MOUNTAINS, PRODUCTIONS, 
STATES, POPULATION, &c. 



A MAP ON AN ENTIRELY NEW CONSTRUCTION. 



TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 



A LETTER TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL, 



REGARDING 



THE SLAVE TRADE, 

AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



JAMES M'QUEEN, ESQ. 

if /0\ 



LONDON : 
B. FELLOWES, LUDGATE STREET. 
1840. 




LONDON : 

RICHARD CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. 



GENERAL CONTENTS. 



PAGJS 

Letter to Lord John Russell — Great errors committed in the pursuit of 
African Discovery — Improvement of Africa — Suppression of the 
foreign Slave Trade— the immense Expense which it has cost Great 
Britain — Great increase of that Trade — Increased productions of 
Foreign Countries in consequence thereof — Cultivation of the Soil — 
the true and only way to Improve and to Civilize Africa, &c. &c. i — xciv 

GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

General View of Africa, Population and States 1 

Great Desert, nature, extent, miseries in crossing it 6 

Arabian Divisions of Africa 15 

Guinea — the Pepper and Ivory Coasts 21 

Ashantee, or Western Wangara — States, Rivers, Mountains, Manners, 

Customs, Wars, Slavery 28 

Human Sacrifices — Bloody Fetisch rites, &c 42 

Western division of Africa, Countries, Rivers, Rokelle, Rio Nunez, 

Rio Grande, Gambia, Senegal, &c. &c 55 

The Niger, or Joliba, and its early tributaries, the Tankisso, Sarano, 

the Bagoe, the Kowara Ba, Ba Nimma, &c. &c 71 

Butter Tree, Colat-Nut Tree, Jinne, Massina, &c. &c 88 

Course of the Niger below Jinne, Lake Dibbie — Jinbala — the Gozen 

Zair, the MoosiacaBa, &c. &c 94 

La Mar Zarah River, Cabra, Timbuctoo, small rivers, &c..~. 103 

The Niger below Timbuctoo — Ghou, Haoussa, Yaoori, States betwixt 

the Niger and the Kong Mountains, Population, Lake?, Rivers ; 

Boussa, Park's death, &c. &c * 113 

The Niger below Boussa, the Oli, the Moussa, Wawa ; Nikky, Rakkah, 

Rabbah, &c 128 

The Country from Badagry to Katungah 131 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE 

Delta of the Niger; Rio de Formosa, the Calabar, Old Calabar, Bonny, 

Cameroons, High land of Cameroons, &c. &c 133 

The Lower Niger and the Shadda, &c. &c 146 

Yacoba, Adamowa, Kornorfa, Biafra, &c 155 

Rivers and Countries eastward from Boussa to Bornou, Mayyarrow, 

Coodonia, Quarrama, &c. &c 160 

Kashna, Ghana, Oongaroo, Meczara, Lamlam, Agadez, the Yeou, Old 

Birnie, Gambarou, &c « « 175 

Bornou, Kouka, Lander and Clapperton's Itineraries 194 

The River Shary and its tributaries 197 

Country from Mourzook to Bornou ; the Tibboos, Bilma or Domboo, 

Kowar, Kanem, &c 202 

Lake Shad, or Zad , Bagherme, Bahr el Gazelle, Wajunga, the Gir, 

the Asoo, Caugha, Kuku, Lake Fittre, &c 209 

Runza, Dar Saley or Waday, Darfur, Kordofan, Zagawa, Nubia, 224 

The Bahr el Abiad, Shilluk, Denke, or Donga, the Bahr el Azreek, 

Abyssinia, Angot, Gondar, &c. &c 230 

African Rivers which flow to the south, Shoa and Effat, Tadjoura, 

Zeilah, River Hawash, Ancober 240 

Berbera — Eastern Horn of Africa, &c. &c 245 

Magdosha, the Zebbee, Narea, Gingiro, &c 246 

Jaba, the Quillimancy, Limmou, the Habahia and its tributaries 250 

The Zaire or Congo, Cataracts, &c 253 

The Coanza, the Cuanene, Matteraba, Cassange, Meropooa, the 

Fish River 258 

The Eastern Coast of Africa, the Zambeze and Senna, Tatta, Zanzibar, 

Quiloa, Population of South Africa, Lakes in Southern Africa... 261 

Concluding remarks 264 

Construction of the Map 268 

APPENDIX. 

Distances of Places from each other in Africa 275 

Park's Journeys ; Time and Distances stated 278 



PREFACE. 



The very great and unexpected delay (above three 
months) which has taken place in engraving- and 
bringing forward the map which accompanies this 
work, has enabled me to reconsider a few of the 
numerous authorities, and frequently not very specific 
or clear narratives which could alone be obtained as 
guides for the subsequent geographical survey of 
Africa, in order to make such amendments as appear 
to approach to a greater degree of accuracy in one or 
two points connected with African geography. 

The first is in reference to the Travels of Wargee, 
pp. Ill and 112. He gives the distance from Yaoori 
to the Niger, at Cabra, forty-one days' journey. On 
the fifth day he reached Karamanee, on the sixth day 
Cumba, where, he crossed the Kowara ; thence to 
Gourmon (the capital, of course) ten days ; Gourmon 
to Moush, ten days ; Moush to Imbolee, ten days ; 
and Imbolee to the Niger, at Cabra, five days. The 
reader will perceive how accurately this distance, at 
15^ geographical miles per day, corresponds with the 
positions of Yaoori and Timbuctoo on the map drawn 
before his journey or authority was at all adverted to. 
Karamanee, mentioned by Wargee, is, I am con- 
vinced, the Karmassee of Park s guide, which he places 
in his narrative above Gourmon, instead of below it, 
mistakes which are quite common in the narratives of 
African travellers. Sultan Bello's map places Gour- 
mon about N. W. from Yaoori, the territory belonging 
to which, in Park's day, stretched northward to the 

b 



11 



PREFACE. 



Niger. Bowditch also places it in a similar position 
in a route a little to the eastward of north from 
Yahndi, through Matchaquadee to the Niger ; viz. 25 
days from Yahndi to Gooroma or Gourmon, and 
thence 15 to the Niger. The route which Wargee 
took from Yaoori, crossing the Kowara at Cumba in 
order to proceed to Timbuctoo, together with the 
positions of Gourmon and other places as given by 
the authorities just alluded to, all go to show and to 
prove the high northern course and the great angle 
which the Niger makes amongst the mountains of 
Batako, approaching as nearly as possible to the 
course assigned to the stream by Ptolemy, and as it is 
rudely, but not very incorrectly, delineated by Bello's 
Schoolmaster. The Moush, mentioned by Wargee, 
is no doubt the country governed by Mouzee, (Moush 
and Mouzee being clearly the same, and the sovereign 
being frequently named after the country,) the chief 
who, shortly before Park's arrival in that quarter of 
Africa, had attacked Jinne, by embarking his troops 
in canoes on Lake Dibbie. The position of the place, 
as given by Wargee, shows that the route which 
Mouzee took was the most proper which he could 
take in order to attack that place. There is one point 
further worthy of remark in Wargee's statement, and 
which is, that, between Moush and Imbolee,he "crossed 
no water," which would go to prove, either that no 
such river as that stated according to the Greek text 
of Ptolemy, as flowing into the Niger on the south 
side, about 3° to the east of Cuphae or Timbuctoo, 
exists, or, that Wargee must have crossed it so near 
its source, that the diminutive nature of the stream 
rendered it unworthy of notice. This last is most 
probable. Dupuis gives the distance from Timbuctoo 
to Moozee 14 days S. E. 

Secondly, since the subsequent pages were written, 
Mr. Isenberg, the gentleman referred to in p. 242 and 
in the Postscript, has arrived in England, and having 
seen him, he confirms the view I had taken of the 



PREFACE. 



Ill 



deep bay stretching S. W. from Tadjoura. Near its 
opening- it is about seven miles broad, from which, 
narrowing", it becomes not more than two miles ; and 
then contracting to a very narrow strait, it again ex- 
pands in a circular basin of about three or four miles 
in diameter. Mr. Isenberg crossed the bay mentioned 
on his return from Ancobar. Tadjoura has a fine har- 
bour ; Zeilah has none. The country around Tadjoura 
is mountainous, and to the north-west of it coals are 
stated to be abundant. In returning from Shoa, Mr. 
Isenberg took a route a little more to the north, that 
is, nearer the Hawash than the route by which he had 
advanced, and in this route he describes the country 
as still more decidedly and distinctly volcanic than he 
found it in his route more to the south ; so much so, 
indeed, that in some places appearances plainly indi- 
cated that these volcanoes had, at no distant period, 
been in activity. Tadjoura is about 46 geographical 
miles NN. W. of Zeilah. All the Arab tribes on the 
African coast in this quarter have a friendly feeling 
towards England. 

The travels of Ignaz Pallme have put us in posses- 
sion of a few additional facts regarding Kordofan, and 
the parts adjacent, especially to the south. Kordofan 
is a delightful country, and, in many districts, not 
inferior to the Brazils. Vegetation, the most varie- 
gated, exhaling the sweetest odours, overspreads the 
low lands, while the general surface is rather flat 
than mountainous. Towards the west the soil is com- 
posed chiefly of loose sands. The trees in many 
places are very tall. Numerous singing-birds sport 
in their branches. There are but few rivers. The 
houses are circular, made of straw, and have no 
windows. Cattle are numerous. Two pounds of 
good beef do not cost so much as a penny. Oxen 
are used for riding. Snakes, and other reptiles, are 
numerous. The country is, upon the whole, un- 
healthy. The natives of Kordofan are in general 
peaceable and hospitable, but very indolent, much 

12 



iv 



PREFACE. 



given to lying, and are great thieves. The reigning 
religion is the Mahommedan. Six days' journey to 
the south and south-west of Obeid is the country of 
the Nuba, extending to the borders of the Bahr-el- 
Adda and the White Nile. The inhabitants are a 
different race from the population of Kordofan. They 
are Pagans, but very kind-hearted people. Their 
parental and filial affection is very great. The coun- 
try is very mountainous : they enumerate above one 
hundred mountains. The nation forms a republic — 
each inhabited mountain has its own judge. They 
are a distinct race from the population inhabiting 
around the White Nile. The republic of Darhammar 
is amongst the Nuba mountains ; so is Tekele, which 
is also a republic, but with aristocratic institutions. 

It is proper to state, that Cobbe, in Darfur, seems 
to be situated on a table land near that portion of the 
country where the division of waters takes place ; some 
to the south of it, flowing south and south-easterly, 
tributary to the Bahr-el-Abiad, and some on the west, 
flowing to the west and north-west into the Misselad, 
and some probably into the lakes to the north of the 
province of Wara. 

Thirdly, my friend Mr. Jamieson has, a few days 
ago, communicated to me full extracts from Capt. 
Beecroft's and Dr. Moffat's letters to him, (dated in 
December last,) previous to starting again for the 
coast of Africa, regarding the river Formosa, where 
they were in June last, taking preparatory measures 
for a voyage up that river in the spring of this 
year. Capt. Beecroft, it is proper to observe, had 
surveyed the Nun branch from the sea, and the parent 
stream of the Niger to its junction with the Shadda, 
and had also previously visited all the rivers in the 
Delta and the parts adjoining ; and as the accounts 
given are fuller than the abstract referred to in the 
letter addressed to Lord John Russell, p. xii., and 
going more clearly and decidedly to prove the views 
which I have ever taken with regard to the river 



PREFACE. 



V 



Formosa, I readily and with pleasure transcribe them 
at length, thus : — 

Capt. Beecroft. — " A few days before we left Benin River I 
ordered the gig to be manned and armed ; also lead line and compass. 
Left at 9 a. m., arrived off Jaquetine Point 9.30; after a run of six 
miles, sounded in four fathoms. A fresh sea breeze springing up 
and flood tide, with a sail we made very rapid progress. At 11 a. m. 
sounded off a small creek on the north side of the river, when it 
commenced raining in torrents. At noon passed Gatto Creek ; the 
river rather became contracted here. At 1 p. M. rain continued in 
such torrents" that, fearing to be benighted before he could regain 
the vessel, he turned back at a point "where there were several 
villages, and about five miles above Gatto Creek : sounded in 4^ 
fathoms ; course up E. N. E. with a noble reach in sight before us 
about 12 miles." At sunset he regained the vessel, "entertaining 
a very favourable opinion of the advantage which may result from a 
knowledge of the navigation of this river. It very far surpasses the 
Brass (Nun) River in every point of view. I am quite satisfied the 
result will show that it communicates with the Niger above Eboe. 
I went to bed with a full conviction of success when the time arrives 
for the great work." 

Dr. Moffat. — " Capt. Beecroft and myself went up the river to 
reconnoitre. We proceeded above Gatto Creek, and were much 
pleased with the appearance of the river at that part where it is 
about half a mile broad. Saw a reach extending for about twelve 
miles upwards, without any obstacle to obstruct the eye or turn the 
river from its placid course. From repeated soundings which we 
made, we never found less than 4 J fathoms water, from one side of 
the river to the other, and sometimes we found as much as b\ and 6 
fathoms. I have now seen all the principal rivers in the Bights of 
Benin and Biafra, with the exception of Old Calabar, and my opinion 
(sanctioned by Capt. Beecroft's) is, that the Benin is most likely to 
be of the greatest commercial importance in relation to the interior, 
and we have also come to the conclusion that the city of Benin is 
nearer the river than has hitherto been pointed out." 

This, from two persons on the spot alive to the im- 
portance of the question and with a knowledge of the 
anxiety of the public about the matter, is worth 
volumes of London closet theories, and is to me most 
satisfactory. The account given of the depth of the 



gave me of it in the year 1822, immediately after his 




vi 



PREFACE. 



return from Africa. The distance run by Capt. Bee- 
croft, from the anchorage where his vessel lay to 
Gatto Creek, at the junction of that auxiliary with 
the Niger, cannot be less than 25 miles, or more pro- 
bably 30 miles, from the sea ; which is from six 
to ten miles more than has hitherto been supposed, 
and which will bring the eastern termination of the 
reach of the Formosa, which Capt. Beecroft saw, to be 
only 33 miles below or to the west of Eboe, taking 
the longitude where it is placed on the map to be 
correct ; but not more than 15 miles, if the longitude 
given to that place by Capt. Beecroft, namely 6° E., 
is correct. The supposition also, on the part of Dr. 
Moffat, namely, that the city of Oedo, the capital of 
Benin, is at no great distance from the river, is in 
accordance with old Portuguese maps, which lay it 
down at no great distance on the north side. 

The same cause which has delayed the present pub- 
lication enables me to notice the charge of misstate- 
ment and " exaggeration" which, through Mr. Buxton's 
work on the Slave Trade, Mr. Turnbull, in his recent 
work on Cuba, has thought proper to make against 
me. At p. 362 of his work Mr. Turnbull proceeds 
thus : " He, Mr. Buxton, takes credit for extreme 
moderation in not extending it to 100,000, on the 
authority of Mr. M'Queen, the grounds of whose 
opinion are equally indefinite." 

The specific reference and returns regarding the 
slave population of Cuba, given in p. xxvi. in the sub- 
sequent letter, and in the Appendix to the work, 
p. 283, render it quite unnecessary to extend remark 
or contradiction here. To these the attention of the 
reader is requested and directed, and from these he 
will learn whether "the grounds" of my "opinion" 
are "indefinite" or not. It is necessary, however, to 
advert, for a moment, to Mr. Turnbull's estimates, 
and the authority on which he makes them. Out of 
his own lips and from his own pages he shall be 
judged. 



PREFACE. 



vii 



Mr. Tufnbull's results are that the number of slaves 
in Cuba, in the year 1837, was 356,000 (p. 151) ; that 
the yearly import is, at the utmost, 24,000 (p. 155) ; 
while Mr. Tolme, the British consul at the Havannah, 
cannot stretch the number beyond 23,000 (p. 363). 
Mr. Turnbull, p. 150, states that the parliamentary 
commissioners confess the number 122,500 (p. 150) to 
have been imported in ten years ending- 1837 ; that 
the present decrease on sugar estates is ten per cent, 
yearly (p. 150) ; and on coffee estates from 3£ to 5 
per cent. (p. 295) per annum. Mr. Turnbull further 
adds (p. 230) two returns of the slave population of 
Cuba, which it is necessary to state and to bear in 
mind, (see also general returns in Appendix, p. 283,) 
namely, that in 1775 it was, — males 28,774, females 
15,562, together 44,336; in 1827, males 183,290, 
females 103,652, total 286,942. Such are Mr. Turn- 
bull's conclusions, regarding which it may be observed 
that those which relate to the extent of the slave 
population are made not only on " indefinite grounds," 
but contrary to the most pointed and definite data 
which he either had or could easily have obtained. 

Why the return of 1792 has been omitted, and why 
the reference has stopped short with the slave popu- 
lation of 1827, will readily appear. With regard to 
the number stated by the slave commissioners to be 
imported, it is simply necessary to observe that every 
one knows they neither know nor can ascertain one 
half the number that is introduced into Cuba or any 
where else. The returns of the slave population for 
1792, 1817, 1827,1828 and 1830, are here reproduced : 

Slave Population of Cuba. 

1792. 1817. 1827. 1828. 1830. 

84,590 199,145 286,942 301,000 479,000 

The actual increase here given in Cuba, in the two 
last years, is 178,000, or 89,000 per annum, to which 
must be added the number imported, to make good 
the decrease by deaths over births, which Mr. Turn- 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



bull states is, for sugar estates, 10 per cent., and 
coffee, 5 per cent, per annum ; and also the additional 
number which must have been imported to make 
good the number enfranchised, which, in Spanish 
colonies, it is well known is very considerable. In 
fact, as is shown, Letter, p. xxvi., the increase of the 
free black population of Cuba, in these two years, was 
25,000, and on the whole free coloured population in 
three years, 88,506. The proper proportion added, 
on account of these two items, will make the number 
imported for the years mentioned more than 100,000 
for Cuba alone. 

This authority and these returns Mr. Turnbull 
might have seen in Cuba. I gave them to Mr. Bux- 
ton to publish in his work ; which had he done, his 
estimate, instead of being impugned as it has been, 
would have stood upon invincible grounds. This was 
the authority for stating what I did state to the gen- 
tleman mentioned about two years ago ; namely, that 
such was the extent to which the slave trade had, 
during previous years, been carried on, especially 
from 1827 to 1831, that for successive years the 
number introduced into Cuba and Porto Rico could 
not be less than 100,000, not that 100,000 had been 
and were continually and yearly introduced into these 
places since 1808, the year of British abolition. 

The yearly decrease by natural deaths, owing to the 
very great disproportion between the sexes that has 
always existed in Cuba, and which has been still more 
increased of late years, as Mr. Turnbull's pages abun- 
dantly testify, (" 3 to 1 on most estates in the island 
he mentions one estate with 700 males without a single 
female,) must be very great. His object is to make 
it be believed that only a comparatively small number 
of African negroes has been introduced into Cuba 
during a great number of years back. Had he taken 
the return of the number at the close of 1 830, namely, 
479,000, all his statements and speculations would 
have been scattered to the winds, and he would have 



PREFACE* 



saved himself the trouble of writing statements which 
he must, on reflection, regret. 

It would be a waste of time to extend observations on 
this point. From 1827 to 1837 Mr. Turnbull and the 
slave commissioners admit the known importation of 
only 122,500 additional. But the former has supplied 
us with invincible data to show that it has been a 
great deal more. I shall not stop to inquire into the 
accuracy of Mr. TurnbulFs returns, which, as regards 
produce exported, I know, from more correct autho- 
rity, are below the mark, but take them as he has 
given them, published as he says they are by official 
authority. First, as regards general trade — 

1829. 1837. (pp. 153, 154.) 

Dolls. Dolls. 

Exports, value . 13,952,405 20,346,407 

equal to 48 per cent. 

Next, as regards particular produce — Export : 

1829. 1837. 
Sugar, Arrobas (pp. 115, 153) . 6,588,428 9,062,053 

or 37 per cent, increase. 

Mr. Turnbull (p. 231) shows, as regards Alexan- 
dria estate and others, that owing to the decrease of 
slaves from death the yearly produce had been re- 
duced, even so much as four-fifths ; consequently, to 
procure the above very great increase of produce since 
1829, there must have been a proportionate increase 
of African slaves, because Mr. Turnbull nowhere ven- 
tures to state that any portion of the staple articles, 
viz. sugar, coffee, &c. &c, in which he pointedly states 
the greatest increase had taken place, is raised by the 
labour of free people. 

Next, as regards particular articles of food given 
to the slaves, there was imported : — 

1829. 1837. 
Jerked beef, (p. 154) Arrobas . . 536,678 800,500 
Codfish, ditto . . 323,696 408,308 

being, as regards the former, an increase of 50 per 
cent., and of the latter, 26 per cent. 



X 



PREFACE. 



With regard to the amount of exports previously 
given, it is necessary to bear in mind that the value 
is stated at the rate of the customs valuation, which 
gives no correct idea of the real value, but only the 
comparative difference. Thus the customs export 
value for coffee is one dollar the arroba, whereas the 
actual value is double the sum. The following 
reference to St. Jago de Cuba will show still more 
pointedly the increase of produce in Cuba, and conse- 
quently the increased introduction of African slaves. 

Imports. Exports. 

St. Jago de Cuba, 1827 . . . 1,441,048 1,270,586 dolls. 

" 1837. . . 2,299,396 2,182,008 „ 

being, as regards exports, 73 per cent, increase. 

We have seen the increased per centage on articles 
of produce exported within a given period, and also 
noticed, on the authority of Mr. Turnbull himself, 
the great increase which has taken place in the impor- 
tation of articles of food exclusively, or very nearly so, 
appropriated to the use of the slave population, namely 
— 50 per cent, in the former, and from 36 to 45 per 
cent, in the latter. The increase of the slave popu- 
lation, it is clear, has been in the same ratio. Let 
us assume 40 per cent, as the medium, and the slave 
population, at the close of 1830, 479,000 ; these data 
will give us 191,600 as the actual permanent increase 
of slaves in Cuba, from 1830 till 1837, inclusive. To 
this, in order to obtain the number actually introduced, 
must be added the annual decrease of 10 per cent, on 
sugar — (p. 150, this decrease, he emphatically says, 
amounts " to the total renewal of the numbers by 
importation in the course of ten years") — and 5 per 
cent, on coffee plantations ; and say only 4 per cent, 
for enfranchisements, and, together, we shall have at 
least 30,000 yearly, or 240,000 to add to the perma- 
nent increase. The whole united, will thus bring the 
yearly introduction of slaves into Cuba, for the period 
mentioned, to have been about 60,000 ; the number 



PREFACE. 



which Mr. Buxton has stated it to be, from specific 
but totally different data, and not materially different 
from the general average which, in latter years, I have 
elsewhere calculated, and stated it to be ; and all this, 
without taking into account the number lost in the 
middle passage, which requires to be added, in order 
to give the correct number which has been carried 
away from Africa for the quarter mentioned. 

Mr. Turn bull cannot overthrow these calculations. 
He admits that the slaves are not better fed than they 
were formerly ; - and he states, p. 120, that the reason 
of the increased production of Cuba proceeded from 
two causes ; first, chiefly " by the constant and in- 
creasing introduction of new negroes from the coast 
of Africa and, secondly, because its inhabitants 
looked forward to meet the calculated " diminished 
production of the British West Indies.' , In this they 
have, unfortunately, calculated right. 

Mr. Turnbull fills up a few pages with reference to 
Porto Rico, where it appears he never was. In course 
of his narrative, he refers to the returns for that island, 
given in Mr. Porter's Tables, No. 7, lately published. 
The returns for Porto Rico in those Tables were given 
to Mr. Porter by me, and were brought by me from 
that colony three years ago. With these Tables in 
his hands, it is not a little surprising that Mr. Turn- 
bull should mistate the crops of Porto Rico as he has 
done. The crop for 1835 was, he states — sugar, 
369,539 quintals ; coffee, 121,151 quintals ; and mo- 
lasses, 671,009 arrobas, &c. Now, from the tables 
referred to, the crops of Porto Rico were : — 

1835. 1836. 

Sugar, Quintals 438,574^ 498,888^ 

Coffee, ditto 72,623^ 52,772| 

Molasses, gallons 1,391,593 1,724,661 

There is no such return as 369,539 quintals of sugar, 
for any year. In 1830, the export was 340,163£ 
quintals of sugar. The coffee exported in 1829, was 
121,800 quintals, which is, in fact, the amount taken 



xii 



PREFACE. 



by Mr. Turnbull for 1835 ! The coffee crops of Porto 
Rico have decreased of late years, because many of the 
coffee plantations have been turned into sugar, as 
being* a more profitable cultivation. 

The great object which Mr. Turnbull has in view, 
is, to state, and to prove, that the introduction of slaves 
into Cuba, is not by any means so great as it has been 
represented to be. For this purpose he brings for- 
ward the comparative exports at different periods. At 
p. 153, he gives us the export of sugar, 9,060,053 
arrobas, in 1837 ; and 6,588,428 arrobas, in 1829; 
adding, that the export for the latter year, was " the 
earliest period for which I could find a corresponding 
return I" — that is, a return for a period of ten years, 
to correspond with the slave population return, as 
officially stated, for 1827. Now, what will the reader 
think, when I state, that, in the very same table from 
which Mr. Turnbull takes the export for 1829, namely, 
Don Sagra's work, p. Ill, the export of sugar for 
1827, the corresponding period sought there, stands 
5,878,924 arrobas, being 709,802 arrobas less than 
the return for 1829, which he took, but which, as it 
goes to prove a greater increase of produce, (55 per 
cent, instead of 37 per cent.) and, consequently, of slave 
population in these ten years, than Mr. Turnbull wishes 
to make out, he, consequently, does not take. Is such 
a mode of proceeding correct, or just ? 

Mr. Turnbull selects the year 1837 as the scale on 
which he fixes the yearly importation of slaves into 
Cuba. Scarcely any thing can be more disingenuous 
and unfair than this. During the greater part of 1836, 
the slave traders were every where paralyzed by the 
reports of the very severe and stringent nature of the 
new British Slave Act, which came out in the month 
of June of that year. The Act in question authorized 
the capture of all supposed slave-traders, on new, but 
not well-explained grounds ; the consequence of which 
was, that the British cruizers on the coast of Africa 
captured every vessel which came in their way. No 



PREFACE. 



xiii 



fewer than 29 were captured, and sent to Sierra Leone, 
towards the close of 1836 ; the greater part, if not the 
whole, of which were subsequently liberated, from the 
want of legal proof and authority to condemn them. 
All these things paralyzed the slave trade on the coast 
of Africa, from the summer of 1836, to the summer of. 
1837 ; and, consequently, greatly lessened the num- 
ber of slaves imported into the Havannah, and other 
places, during 1837, as compared with previous and 
with subsequent years. 

The public exposure of the fact of the tremendous 
increase of the foreign slave trade, especially by the 
hand from whence that exposure has come, has, no 
doubt, startled the nation, and made more than one 
official personage, and travelling attache, uneasy. The 
public stands appalled at the fact disclosed, namely — 
that, after all the enormous outlay and waste of money 
and life — and after the belief generally entertained 
that the slave trade was extinguished, or very nearly 
so, it is greater than ever ; and is also astonished to 
find that ambassadors, and their subordinates, in more 
than one place, instead of attending to Africa, as they 
stated they were doing, and were bound to do, have 
either been doing nothing, or attending to other and 
less important matters ; in short, that they have been 
doing that which they ought not to have done, and 
leaving undone that which they ought to have done. 
Such conduct is of itself sufficiently reprehensible; but 
is it to be borne by our ruined colonists, and by the 
misled and fleeced people of England — are they, 
in addition, to be told by one set of officers, who have 
been pocketing their money and neglecting their duty, 
that they have been eminently successful, when they 
have signally failed in every point ? and by another 
set, who have been for many years living at the public 
expense, with large salaries, proclaiming the slave 
trade is increasing, doubled, trebled, and so forth — 
now to come forward, when the public have been 
awakened to a sense of their folly, and the mischief 



xiv 



PREFACE. 



which has been done, and tell us, We have been openly 
deceiving you — the extent of the slave trade is nothing 
— hardly deserving notice, or a name ? 

Yet, is not this the true state of things? Is not 
Great Britain paying yearly to slave-commissioners in 
slave-commission courts, in different parts, 14,700/. 
per annum, (formerly as high as 19,000/.); and after 
having been in receipt of this sum yearly for more 
than twenty years, and loudly proclaiming, as commis- 
sioners did proclaim, we are worked off our feet by the 
increasing labour which the still increasing slave trade 
brings upon us, at once to turn round, as Mr. Turn- 
bull and his Havannah informants do, and say, it is all 
deception — the extent of the slave trade is not one- 
fourth of what it has been represented to be ? Mr. 
Turnbull, and others, are grievously and grossly mis- 
taken, if they think that such conduct can be any 
longer tolerated, or escape exposure and reprobation. 

The financial accounts of Great Britain are, unfor- 
tunately for the heavily-taxed people of England, not 
fables. They prove, upon evidence undeniable and 
irresistible, the enormous extent and the undiminished 
extent of the foreign slave trade. Those for 1839, 
lately published, give us (see p. 92,) the amount of boun- 
ties paid for slaves captured last year. The charge on 
the year is 47,238/. ; the sum paid, 42,454/. ; being 
almost double that which I had (p. 86,) estimated 
it would be, and much higher than it has been in any 
year since 1830. 

Since the subsequent pages were written, the returns 
of the sugar-crop of the four ports of Cuba, and of 
these only, have come into my hands. This sugar- 
crop, reduced into muscovado by the scale which 
Mr. Turnbull has furnished us with, (p. 126, and Don 
Sagra gives us, p. 125,) is equal to about 180,000 tons, 
exclusive of the consumption in the colony, above one- 
fourth more. The crop of Porto Rico will, I learn 
from a commercial friend, be, for this year, nearly 
60,000 tons ; together, 70,000 tons more than the 



PREFACE. 



XV 



sugar-crop of all the British sugar colonies for 1 839 ; 
and in which colonies there are 720,000 negro 
labourers. The above vast increase of produce, there- 
fore, clearly and forcibly argues a vast and increas- 
ing influx of fresh labourers into the colonies first 
alluded to. 

Mr. Turnbull, surely, cannot for one moment have 
considered what his labours, if just, and his state- 
ments, if correct, go to show and to prove. It is no 
less than the truth, that 390,000 slaves in Cuba and 
Porto Rico produce, adverting to last year, one-third 
more sugar, — (as regards sugar only it is that 90,000 
slaves in Cuba produce more than 500,000 in the Bri- 
tish colonies^) — ten times more coffee, exclusive of about 
1,500,000/. in value of other articles of commerce, 
than 720,000 free negroes in the British sugar colonies 
produce. This gives a preponderance of almost four to 
one in favour of slave labour over free labour. Could 
not Mr. Turnbull see this ? If his statements regarding 
the slave population of Cuba and Porto Rico are cor- 
rect, then the preponderance as regards production 
and returns is so great in favour of the system there 
established, that all hope of extinguishing slavery, or 
of suppressing the slave trade, while the mass of man- 
kind seek gain in their pursuits, must fall to the ground, 
and must prove utterly hopeless. Taking Mr. Turn- 
bull's statements to be, as he says they are, correct, 
then the conclusion is undeniable, that no man has 
ever advanced any thing so powerful in support of 
personal slavery, and coercive labour, or afforded such 
irresistible strength to the policy and profit of conti- 
nuing the African slave trade as in his work on Cuba 
he has done, 

Mr. Turnbull tells us that some Spanish writers give 
the population of Cuba above 1,000,000, of whom 
600,000 are supposed to be free people, and slaves. 
Even this would bring the slave population to be 
480,000, about the year 1830, the period to which these 
writers allude. Further, all the proportions between 



xvi 



PREFACE. 



the classes which Mr. Turnbuli gives, apply to the cen- 
sus of 1827, and not to the state of the population in 
1837. As one more instance of his inconsistency and 
inaccuracy, take the following: — The district of St. 
Jago, or the Oriental, which (see Don Sagra, p. 6,) 
contained, in 1827, only one-fifth part of the popu- 
lation of Cuba, Mr. Turnbuli tells us contains 65,658 
free white, and 24,859 free coloured children ; toge- 
ther, 90,517, from 5 to 15 years. In the preceding 
page (128) he informs us, that the number of free 
children in the island of the same age, is assumed to 
be 99,599 ! ! 

Certain travellers in their researches discover mares' 
nests, Mr. Turnbuli seeks after no such unprofitable 
things. He finds out an infallible plan (how could he 
miss finding that which he tells us lay in his way ?) to 
extinguish the African slave-trade. It is this : the 
appointment of a new British Slave Commission Court 
in Cuba, with power to seize every slave in that island 
that they may choose to pitch upon, and compel the 
owners to prove the legality of the purchase and their 
right to the property. The discoverer of this infallible 
remedy would, as a matter of course, be at the head 
of the new court with a proper salary ! The govern- 
ment would be bold, and the commissioners bolder, 
who would attempt to plant themselves in Cuba for 
such an object. Why not go to the Brazils also ? 

There is, throughout Mr. Turnbull's work, a pro- 
digious deal of beating about the bush, clearly intended 
to withdraw the mind of the reader from the fact ; and 
it requires no common patience and investigation to 
detect the subterfuges to which he resorts. Yet every 
now and then the real truth oozes out. Thus, during 

1837 he states 78 vessels under the Portuguese flag, 
and 3 under the Spanish, landed in the Havannah 
alone 24,000 slaves (p. 154). In the following page 
he adds, " the reports of the commissioners at the 
Havannah for the last slaving season, from October 

1838 to March 1839, are truly appalling" Again, 



PREFACE. 



xvii 



to the end of April 1839, five months, " the slaving 
season," it is presumed, just mentioned, he states (p. 
355), " twenty-five vessels landed their cargoes on the 
southern coast of Cuba." Nevertheless, he informs us 
that the Havannah and Matanzas are still the greatest 
and the best places for the trade. Considering the 
importations at the times, and the places mentioned, 
and the " truly appalling" accounts regarding the 
extent of the traffic for five months, ending March 
1839, where is the room or the reason for boggling 
at or cavilling at Mr. Buxton's account of the yearly 
introduction of 60,000 slaves into the whole island 
of Cuba? At the Havannah only, there are two 
slave barracoons which contain 2,500 slaves ; these 
were constantly full during the greater part of the 
time that Mr. Turnbull was there. Why does he not 
tell us how many of these were sold daily or weekly ? 
With such a great demand for labourers, they could 
not remain in these places long. We do not require 
to be told how the vacancy so created is filled up. 

According to the census of 1827 (see Don Sagra, 
p. 6,) the whole population of the St. Jago or the 
Oriental district was 131,453, of which 47,499 were 
slaves. In page 129, Mr. Turnbull informs us that 
the number of free children in that district, from 5 to 
15 years of age, was 90,517. This must clearly re- 
late to a different, and to a period subsequent to 1827, 
and we are warranted in taking the children of the 
ages here stated as the number in 1837. This num- 
ber, according to the ratio of population in other 
countries of the world, (see Ireland, for example,) 
would give 364,000 for the number of free persons in 
the St. Jago or Eastern district of Cuba in 1837, 
showing a very great, as there really has been a very 
great increase in that class ; and, as Mr. Turnbull 
admits and states that the number of slaves in that 
and in every other portion of Cuba had increased, 
between 1827 and 1837, in a still greater ratio than 
the free population, it follows : first, that if increased 

c 



XVlll 



PREFACE. 



only in an equal ratio, then 160,000 slaves, a permanent 
population, must have been introduced into the district 
of Cuba alluded to ; and secondly, that according to 
Mr. Turnbull's general statement and admission, the 
number must have been a great deal more. It is also 
well known that the Trinidad and Matanzas divisions 
have increased in population and cultivation to an ex- 
tent equally great as the St. Jago district. 

The facts here stated, and the observations here 
made, are deemed amply sufficient to show the errors 
which Mr. Turnbull has committed. They may also 
be taken to relate, and are, in fact, intended equally to 
apply, to all other cavillers, more especially to the very 
learned critic, who enriches by his labours the last 
number of the London and Westminster Review, with 
several assertions and contradictions relating to the 
extent of the whole African slave trade. " It does 
not," says he, p. 128, « exceed 80,000 souls,'* (60,000 
of which are probably landed in Brazils, Cuba, and 
Porto Rico, and the rest lost in the passage, at the 
rate of 25 per cent., p. 129.) " From Africa, we ac- 
cordingly," continues he, " on sufficient grounds, 
demur to the conclusions drawn by Mr. Buxton, 
though backed by the opinions of Mr. M'Lean, and 
Mr. M'Queen." With Mr. M'Lean, Mr. M' Queen 
never had any communication, either on this or on any 
other subject, though the Reviewer may have had, at 
some remarkable moment, which will account for his 
combining together authorities quite unconnected with, 
and distinct from, each other, in order to strike down 
both by one blow with his invincible arm. Where the 
oracular writer got his authority for fixing the number 
of negroes carried yearly from all Africa in the ex- 
ternal slave trade, at 80,000, I know not ; nor does 
any other know, nor does he state. We are, however, 
required to bow our heads in silent submission, and in 
perfect humility before this superior authority; but 
to this even the spirit of meekness and patience itself 
may reasonably " demur." The only reasons adduced, 



PREFACE. 



xix 



inadequate as they appear, for the unqualified submission 
demanded are, that the writer had, at some period, 
been in some portion of Africa, the particular point 
being shadowed out under the significant declarations ; 
" Having had some sad experience on this very river," 
(the Niger,) p. 163 ; M Cameroons mountain, and we 
speak from personal observation, has a good harbour, 
is equally eligible as Fernando Po," &c. Now, with 
all deference, it was neither by being in sight of 
Cameroons mountain, nor even by being on the very 
summit thereof, that could enable any one to see or 
to know what was passing, or what had been passing 
for many years, in all Africa, and in a very large por- 
tion of America, at the same moment, or to gain a 
general and definite knowledge of the slave trade, 
either in Africa, or from Africa. On the contrary, 
there are few positions in the world where the sphere 
of observation directed to the subject mentioned, could 
be more involved in clouds and mists, and so little able 
to perceive the truth. The Reviewer's knowledge on 
these subjects is clearly circumscribed. Granting that 
he has been in Africa, he has supplied us with invin- 
cible data to show that he has not gained much accurate 
knowledge regarding things that are in it ; because he 
informs us, (p. 165,) that "Berbera is in the Strait of 
Babelmandel that, as if the world did not know it 
before, "Fernando Po is wholly surrounded with water," 
and "Cameroons Mountain being partly" so, therefore, 
" we expect that it will be found separated from the 
mainland that the unfortunate Liverpool expedition 
" discovered (p. 163) the eastern branch of the Niger, 
called Tchad, or Shary and further, that, amongst 
other African theories, Major Rennell " carried the 
Niger into the marshes of Wangara, a country tJiat has 
disappeared ! /" Is this correct African knowledge? 
Wangara has disappeared, has it ? When ? Why, 
does not the critic know that the very portion of 
Africa, where he says he was, is situated in Wangara, 
a name and a large portion of Africa perfectly well 



XX 



PREFACE. 



known to every tyro in African geography, and to every 
Moslem African, or Moslem African traveller that ever 
crossed the Niger, or traversed the countries from the 
Assinee on the west, to old Calabar, inclusive, on the 
east, and the countries and districts extending along and 
around the outlets of that mighty stream. With these 
specimens of geographical errors we are warranted in 
placing little reliance upon the Reviewer's statements 
regarding the extent of the African slave trade ; more 
especially when these are flatly contradicted by various 
authorities more comprehensive in their field of ob- 
servation, and unquestionably better informed.* 

Having committed such blunders in these impor- 
tant matters, it cannot be considered extraordinary 
that equally great should have been committed in other 
points. Take the following. 

i( Let us compare [says the Reviewer, p. 127 and 128] the 
value of the slaves alleged to be imported into Cuba" [60,000 at 
300 dollars each, 18,000,000 dollars every year paid for fresh labour] 
" with the value of the total exports, 20,346,407 dollars yearly." 
And extending this song of triumph, he proceeds :— — " what would be 
thought of Great Britain exporting 40,000,0002. of manufactures 
annually ; and in order to produce those manufactures, importing 
36,000,0002. worth of machinery t On the face of these figures the 
import into Cuba is impossible." 

The Reviewer, in the exuberance of his wisdom, 
puts the capital invested, or supposed to be invested, 

* A respectable trader, who has frequented the southern part of 
the west coast of Africa for several years, gives the extent of the 
trade last year at the following places. At Cabenda there were, and 
never are fewer than, 4 or 5 vessels ; in the river Congo, 14 or 15 ; 
at Ambriz, 10 ; and at St. Paul's de Loando, 40 to 50 ; each of 
which vessels is capable of carrying from 300 to 500 slaves. They 
complete their cargoes in about six weeks. The places of those 
which depart are always and immediately supplied by fresh arrivals, 
so that the number actively engaged in the traffic is never dimi- 
nished throughout the year. Admitting that only four voyages in 
succession are made in the course of the year, and that each vessel 
conveys 400, the tonnage alluded to would be sufficient to carry 
away 1 10,000 yearly ! (See article, Colonial Gazette, June 17th, 
1840, communicated from a source which the writer of this knows 
to be most respectable and well informed.) 



PREFACE. 



XXI 



in both cases, and the produce exported from the em- 
ployment of that capital, as one and the same ; and 
consequently wholly overlooks the fact, that out of 
20,346,407 dollars, the yearly exports ; 14,564,304 
are the value of the produce raised from the appli- 
cation of 160,000,000 dollars capital vested in agricul- 
tural slaves, forming part too of 450,000,000 dollars of 
fixed agricultural capital. In this way he is making — 
not the manufacturers of Great Britain and the 
agriculturists of Cuba, but himself, extremely wrong, 
and extremely ridiculous ; and instead of flooring 
Mr. Buxton, he has floored himself. He clearly con- 
siders the whole manufacturing power, animate and 
inanimate, in the supposed British capital as lasting 
only one year ; and as regards Cuba, that 60,000 
slaves, value 18,000,000 dollars, are exterminated, 
extinguished annually ; a number which, together 
with the permanent yearly increase admitted by Mr. 
Turnbull, would require an importation of 74,000 
annually ; also that amongst the population there is no 
waste, and that neither it nor the productions of the 
island ever increase. 

The following remarkable and pointed assertions 
regarding the insincerity and want of all moral prin- 
ciple in the African chiefs (p. 141) are worthy of 
notice : — 

" We having had [says the Reviewer] personal experience of the 
native chiefs, both on the coast and in the interior, are quite aware 
that treaties may be made with all of them :" they " will sign any- 
thing, promise anything, and as long as they are coerced, perform 
that part, but no longer." " As to making a treaty in the European 
sense of the term with any power in the negro country, the idea is 
absurd." " Liberal sentiments are common in the mouths of all." 
" We have often listened with wonder to the just and benevolent 
sayings of these gentry, and have invariably found the greater the 
profession the more reason to distrust the man." " A confederacy 
of chiefs from the Gambia on the west to Bagherme on the east, and 
from the desert on the north to the gulf of Guinea on the south, is 
purely chimerical." — (P. 142.) 

In opposition to these statements it may be ob- 
served, that Mr. Macgregor Laird, only a few years 



XXII 



PREFACE. 



ago, wrote a considerable volume in order to prove 
from " personal experience" that African chiefs and 
the African people were in all respects the reverse, — 
the kindest-hearted and most sincere people that he 
had ever met with. Take the following in proof : — 

" If I had been pleased with Obie's character before, I was much 
more so now. I had been completely in his power : the vessel's 
decks were crowded with his people ; they were aware that out of 
the five white men I had living, three were confined to their ham- 
mocks ; and yet I was received with more kindness, and had more 
respect paid to me, than when I had visited the place before, with 
all my crew living, and in full health and strength." — (Vol. I. p. 273.) 

" The only means we can adopt with any probability of success 
lies in following the only channel which nature has given us, — that of 
the river Niger ; and thus, if I may use the expression, to turn the 
flank of Western Africa. I therefore propose that a chain of British 
posts should be carried up the Niger as far as Sego, and from thence 
by Timbo to Sierra Leone, and to Barraconda on the Gambia 5 that 
the seat of government on the coast should be transferred from 
Sierra Leone to Fernando Po, and that the communication with the 
interior should be kept up by steam-boats from that point." This 
plan " would be easy in execution, economical in practice, and most 
satisfactory in its results." 

The Niger " is navigable for three thousand miles. The reception 
which we met with, the freedom which we enjoyed from all molesta- 
tion, sufficiently attests the peaceable and amiable character of the 
natives." This "proves the facility with which establishments might 
be formed in the most favourable positions for trade." — (Vol. II. 
pp. 385, 386.) 

" At all these places there is abundance of unoccupied land, which 
could be purchased from the natives at a mere nominal rate ; and in 
the part of the country I have myself been in, I am confident that 
such establishments would be hailed by them with a general feeling 
of good will ; that the white men would be appealed to as umpires 
in all disputes ; and as long as they conducted themselves with justice 
and propriety, would be looked up to with respect and affection." — 
(Vol.11, p. 386.) 

" I can safely assert that, as far as my experience goes, European 
traders will be received with open arms by all the inhabitants of the 
interior ; that no hostility, but, on the contrary, every kindness and 
respect, will be shown to them ; that their property and life will be 
as safe (excepting from the effects of climate) upon the Niger as 
upon the Thames."— (Vol. II. p. 407.) 

" I fearlessly assert, that there are no people on the face of the 
globe more desirous and capable of trading than the present race of 
Africans, with all their disadvantages." — P. 363. 



PREFACE. 



xxiii 



Which is right — the Westminster Review in 1840, or 
Mr. Macgregor Laird in Africa in 1833, it is left to 
the public to determine. It appears quite incompre- 
hensible how people so " capable of trading" should not 
be able to understand the nature of a treaty between 
man and man, and between nation and nation. Sheik 
el Kanemy of Bornou and the king of Ashantee both 
understood and maintained the treaties entered into 
by them with this country. 

What the soil of Africa wants is labour, to render it 
productive. What the population of Africa require is 
capital, and industry, and security ; with intelligence 
to maintain the latter, and to direct the two former. 
To suppress completely the external slave trade 
it is not necessary to plant these on every part of the 
immense coast, or in all the vast continent of Africa. 
Only raise in any more commanding and accessible 
portion of Africa, say on the greatest artery, the banks 
of the lower Niger, 300,000 bales of cotton, 20,000 tons 
of coffee, and 100,000 tons of sugar, at a cheap rate, 
and throw these yearly into the market of the world 
already fully supplied by slave labour, and the result 
will be that this additional produce would reduce so 
greatly the general prices of all produce in every 
quarter, that the external slave trade would cease to 
be profitable, — cease to exist ; because the cultivators 
in Cuba, Brazils, &c, would find themselves unable to 
purchase so as to extend cultivation at a rate that would 
repay. That Europe has not hitherto found out this 
important but simple truth, argues no great superiority 
of intellect over the people of Africa. 

In conclusion I may add, that it is impossible to con- 
sider or to reflect upon the labours of Mr. Isenberg and 
Mr. Kraaf, elsewhere noticed, without feeling the 
highest pleasure and the greatest satisfaction. They 
have not only brought to our view 7 a correct geographi- 
cal picture of a most important portion of Africa, but 
also of a population bearing the name of Christians, — 
a population and a country which, in ancient and remote 



xxiv 



PREFACE. 



times, were much more cultivated and civilized than 
thej are now ; brought to our view, in short, a very 
remote portion of the Ethiopia of both the New and 
of the Old Testament, — that Ethiopia which the 
evangelical Prophet, instructed by Wisdom which can- 
not err, and commanded by Power which can bring 
every thing to pass ; has told us that, in the latter days, 
that is, under the Christian dispensation, " Ethiopia 
shall stretch out her hands unto God." 

I cannot conclude these labours without again stating 
my conviction, that the sources of the chief branch of 
the Bahr el Abiad spring in about three degrees of north 
latitude ; and that a great branch of the Zaire, or Congo, 
rises on the opposite side of the dividing range. The 
flooding of the rivers decidedly proves this, independ- 
ently of every other authority.* The springs also 
of the Habahia, the Zebee, and the Webbe are, it is 
conjectured, still further to the south than where they 
have been placed in the map, and those also of the 
Shadda are probably a little more to the eastward and 
south-eastward. Referring to old translations of the 
«arly Dutch and Portuguese navigators, Nyandael, 
Barbot, &c, (I have not seen the originals,) I find 
that they estimate the distance of Gatto, or Agatton, 
from the mouth of the Formosa, to be 20 leagues ; the 
capital of Benin to be one day's journey from Gatto ; 
and Arebo (certainly Eboe) on the river to be 60 
leagues (not miles) from the mouth of the Formosa. 

* While correcting the press for these pages, the Times of the 7th 
July published the following confirmation of the correct delineation 
of the map, and of the accuracy of the opinion advanced here and in 
p. 235, &c. 

The Gazzetta Piemontese of the 1st July gives the following ex- 
tract from a private letter, dated Alexandria, May 27th. " We 
have received news from the expedition which went to discover the 
source of the Nile. Having arrived at 3° 30' north latitude, they 
found that the river divided into two branches, and the current 
became so rapid that no boat could resist it. The expedition was 
consequently obliged to return to Cartoum." 

London? 6th July, 1840. 



TO THE 



RIGHT HONOURABLE 

LORD JOHN RUSSELL, 

&c. &c. &c. 



My Lord, 

Permit me, respectfully, to place in your 
hands, for the information of the British Government 
and the Public, the subsequent " Geographical Survey 
of Africa more especially of the tropical portion of 
that vast continent, containing in a space as brief as 
possible, a brief description and delineation of the 
courses of the great rivers, the chains of mountains, 
the general manners, character, and pursuits of the 
people, and also the productions and capabilities of the 
soil. The facts regarding these matters, collected from 
the best authorities, ancient and modern, have been, 
after long and laborious consideration and research, 
arranged in their present connected shape. It may, 
to some extent, prove a guide to Government in fol- 
lowing out their present extended views and plans, 
formed for the purpose of extirpating at its roots the 
African slave trade, and the causes and the passions 
which produce it. 

b 



11 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



In reference to the important subject of African 
discovery, and tbe attempts to put an end to the foreign 
African slave trade, some observations are necessary. 
These are specially called for when the extraordinary 
and injudicious proceedings are considered, which 
Europe, but more especially Great Britain, has adopted 
and followed with regard to both. But first, as relates 
to discovery, what has been done ? • In every single 
instance the wrong course and the wrong road has been 
taken to explore the interior of Africa, and to deter- 
mine the course and termination of the great river 
Niger ; and this wrong course too adopted, and these 
wrong paths taken, in the teeth of irresistible evidence 
and facts. For fifty years we have laboured to com- 
paratively little purpose ; and all that is really the most 
important African practical discovery in modern times, 
has been brought about as it were by chance, and in 
despite of ourselves ; or, to use a homely proverb, 
"more by good luck than good guiding/' What has 
been the consequences of these long and these con- 
tinued errors? Why, that many valuable lives have 
been sacrificed, many thousands of the public money 
fin looking through parliamentary returns 60,000/. 
may be counted for this service alone) have been 
thrown away ; the sad consequences of which are, that 
this country has been kept completely ignorant of the 
real situation of Africa, and the only way by which 
we can reach her . to do her any permanent good. 
Even where that way was disclosed to us, it has, from 
various causes alike humiliating and reprehensible, been 
forsaken, or suffered to remain useless. Even where 
travellers, however wrong directed, have, by their 
perseverance, obtained information, or created a fa- 
vourable impression, it has been neglected to be 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ill 



followed up by Great Britain. Such has been the 
case, in a very glaring manner, in the issue of the 
mission by Mr. Salt to Abyssinia, and of the mission 
by Denham and Clapperton to the comparatively in- 
telligent chief of Bornou. He was anxious for a close 
and a friendly connexion with Great Britain, and also 
to aid her views \ and even after our ambassadors 
returned to England, pressed these points upon them. 
Not a single step, however, was or has been taken to 
accord with his wishes, for even Clapperton's second 
journey was undertaken and gone about in a way where 
failure, as regards Bornou, might have been calculated 
upon as certain. He could and ought to have reached 
Bornou by a different, a shorter, and much easier route 
than that which he took, namely, up the Shadda so 
far, and then through the Domah country to Bornou. 
Again, as regards his mission to Saccatoo itself, look 
at the road which he took ! He first went from Boussa 
to Kano, 300 miles E.N.E. ; next from Kano to Sac- 
catoo, 200 miles N. by W., both journeys by land; while 
he knew that from Boussa to Yaoori by water was only 
seventy miles north ; and from Yaoori to Saccatoo, 
about seven days' journey, 100 miles N.E. ; in short, 
to make out 170 miles he travelled, and in the rainy 
season too,, 500 ! No wonder African expeditions fail. 

Captain Tuckey's expedition, and its melancholy 
result, is well known. After a great expense it ter- 
minated without giving us any information of im- 
portance regarding that quarter of Africa, beyond that 
which was previously well known. The formidable 
and impassable cataracts in the Zaire, and that in 
consequence of these the river could not be navigated 
upwards, was well known to Europe many years ago. 
Had Tuckey been sent to the Rio de Formosa instead 

b 2 



IV IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 

of the Zaire, Africa, to its utmost recesses, had at that 
time been completely explored.* 

Ritchie and Lyon were sent out to penetrate into 
the interior of Africa from Tripoli, by Mourzook. 
The travellers were left at Mourzook neglected, and 
without the promised funds to enable them to go on 
during six months of the most sickly part of the year. 
In consequence of this, the ruler of that place lost 
respect for them, and Ritchie died of sickness brought 
on by chagrin and disappointment. Deprived of its 
most efficient head, Lyon got no further than Tegerby, 
where he was obliged to turn back. Major Laing was 
again directed to proceed by a similar route,, namely, 
Ghadames and Twat to Timbuctoo, under the pro- 
tection and recommendation of the Bey of Tripoli. 
Notwithstanding this, he was first attacked, wounded, 
and basely robbed, not far from Timbuctoo, by one 
party of Moors, and afterwards cruelly murdered by 
another party, without a single step having been taken 
by this great country to avenge his fate. Such is, or 
ought to be, our influence with the chief of Tripoli, 
and such his influence with the Mahommedan tribes in 
the desert, that 1000 dollars offered by him, and 
pressed by him on some of these tribes, would have, 
in a short period, brought both the robbers and the 
murderers in chains to Tripoli, there to suffer for their 
crimes. Such an example, promptly made, would have 
rendered the life of any British traveller, who might 

* This unfortunate expedition was directed to the point mentioned 
by the urgent and decided opinions of Mr. Maxwell, namely, that 
the Zaire was actually the Niger. No one knew the mouth of the 
Zaire better than the gentleman alluded to ; but his error shows that 
a correct knowledge of a given point or district on the sea-shore of 
that quarter of the world, does not constitute any individual a safe 
guide to direct travellers to explore the interior of Africa. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



V 



afterwards have been led to visit that quarter, com- 
paratively safe, if not wholly so. But not a single 
step to this has been taken — even yet it is not too late. 

The fate of Mr. Park is well known. Though 
prudence cannot justify the course he pursued in 
reaching the Gambia, and proceeding into the interior 
of Africa at a season of the year which was certain 
to find him, before he had proceeded one hundred 
and fifty miles on his journey, overwhelmed with 
the rainy season, while conducting a large body of 
Europeans in a climate pernicious to them, and in 
a country without roads, and deeply intersected by 
flooded and rapid streams ; still that does not justify the 
little judicious exertion which has been made by this 
country to recover his papers, or to try to convince, 
if we could not punish for their crimes, the Africans 
who occasioned his death how unjustly they had 
acted. The routes which he took, and was permitted, 
perhaps directed, to take, were the most injudicious 
and tedious, and most dangerous, that could have 
been chosen to ascertain the general course, and 
probable termination, of the Niger. He perished, 
and was scarcely thought of. So fell, unlamented 
and unnoticed, Major Houghton; while a very small 
exertion on our part, when established at the Senegal, 
might, by the offer of a reward amongst the neigh- 
bouring Moorish tribes, have brought his murderers 
to Port Louis in fetters, to have suffered the penalty 
of death for their crime. 

It is sickening to pursue the extensive list of the 
errors committed during the last fifty years in the 
attempts to penetrate into Africa. In every thing, 
and at every time, we have begun at the wrong 
end ; — to use a homely proverb, we have " put the 



vi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



cart before the horse," and we have accordingly 
signally failed. It would indeed seem that as our 
knowledge regarding Africa increased, we were never- 
theless determined to pursue the same course of 
error. The proposed expedition, the dernier resort 
to do good to Africa, is, as I learn, to be sent up 
the river Nun ; that is, I suppose, because three 
expeditions have been thwarted, it may be said have 
been destroyed, by attempting this route, that still 
it shall again be tried. Let us attend to this matter 
for a moment. Lander by chance came down this 
river in his last journey, or rather he was at the 
pleasure of his conductors brought down it from 
Eboe. The scanty information which his unfortunate 
situation enabled him to glean, and to give con- 
cerning the lower part of the stream, amounted to 
this : that for a distance before he reached Brass, the 
canoe which bore him found, at one place for a 
considerable space, scarcely depth of water to pass 
with mangrove arches above their heads, excluding 
the light of day ! This too, be it observed, was the 
case below that point, where he describes the river 
as " fast dwindling away to an insignificant stream." 
With this knowledge only, a mercantile expedition 
from Liverpool, under Mr. Macgregor Laird, in 
two steamers, went out; and although the largest of 
these drew only about six feet water, they had diffi- 
culty to get on even while the river Nun was in 
flood, there being for a considerable distance but 
one fathom and a half, and in one place only eight feet 
water, and the breadth only from thirty to forty 
yards ! ! The fate of that expedition, after extra- 
ordinary exertions and perseverance, is well known. 
As a mercantile business, it proved a total failure ; 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



vii 



in geographical information, except fixing the position 
of Fundah more accurately, it added but little to our 
knowledge of Africa ; while the diseases caught in the 
pestilential swamps around the Nun, left only Mr. 
Laird and a few others to tell the mournful tale. 

The mortality amongst the few trading ships, and 
the slavers which have of late years begun to frequent 
this river, is dreadful. No human constitution can 
stand the effects of the malaria engendered round its 
deadly shores, whereon for a distance of sixty miles 
or more only water, mud, and mangroves can be 
seen ! The S.W. wind blows nearly throughout the 
year right up this stream and its numerous branches, 
and this wind carries after the unfortunate traveller 
and navigator, the accumulated malaria of the whole 
delta \ while around the river Nun in particular, 
there is no produce of any description, and but a 
scanty population ; and these, too, according to every 
account, the most idle, the most ignorant, the most 
degraded, and the greatest scoundrels on the face 
of the earth. The river has been frequented of late 
years by slavers, chiefly because our cruisers can 
more readily catch them in the Bonny, or near it. To 
avoid this, the slavers and their African allies send 
the slaves across from Bonny to the Nun in canoes, 
by the numerous creeks found in that part of the 
coast. At the Nun, they ship them in a day or a 
night, when the slaver runs out before our cruisers are 
aware; or, if these cruisers proceed from Bonny to 
the Nun, then the slaver ships his slaves at Bonny, 
and puts out to sea in safety. 

The following extract from Lander's last voyage 
will give, in a short space, an accurate and true 
account of the ignorance, and the depravity of the 



viii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



population ; their character, and also the character of 
the river Nun. They appear to be very much a-kin 
to, and suited to each other : — 

" To convince of his (King Boy's) veracity, he produced a pocket- 
book, containing a great number of recommendatory notes, or 
* characters,' as a domestic would call them, written in the English, 
French, Spanish, and Portuguese languages, and which had been 
given him by various European traders who had visited the Brass 

River Boy's letters mention certain dealings which their 

authors have had with him, and they, likewise, bear testimony to 
his own character, and the manners of his countrymen. Among 
others is one from a ' James Dow,' master of the brig Susan from 
Liverpool, and dated ' Brass First River, September, 1830,' which 
runs as follows : . . . . ' Captain Dow states, that he never met with 
a set of greater scoundrels than the natives generally, and the 

pilots in particular.' Them he anathematized as d- rascals, who 

had endeavoured to steer his vessel among the breakers at the 
mouth of the river, that they might share the plunder of its wreck. 
King Jacket, who claims the sovereignty of the river, is declared to 
be a more confirmed knave, if possible, than they, and to have 
cheated him of a good deal of property. The writer describes 
King Forday as a man rather advanced in years, less fraudulent, 
but more dilatory. King Boy, his son, alone deserved his confidence, 
for he had not abused it, and possessed more honesty and integrity 
than either of his countrymen. These are the rulers of the Brass 
country, and pretty fellows they are truly. Mr. Dow observes 
further, that the river is extremely unhealthy, and that his first and 
second mates, three coopers, and five seamen, had already died of 
fever, and that he himself had had several narrow escapes from the 
same disorder. He concludes by cautioning traders against the 
treachery of the natives generally, and gives them certain directions 
concerning the 1 dreadful bar,' at the mouth of the river, on which 
he had nearly perished." — Lander's Travels, vol. iii. p. 190, &c. 

But as regards the manners and customs of the 
people, and what is of more immediate importance to 
the European who seeks a navigable passage into the 
interior, Oldfield gives the following, in the former 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



ix 



case sickening, and in the latter case, decisive infor- 
mation, regarding the impracticability of the river for 
the purpose of navigation : — 

" The Americans had equally felt the excitement and interest con- 
sequent on the discovery of the termination of the Niger by Lander, 
and saw that the vast tract of country which offered a market for 
British goods might also be available to them. A few enterprising 
merchants of Rhode Island had therefore fitted out the vessels just 
arrived, consisting of a brig, named the Agenoria, of about two 
hundred and thirty tons burthen, and two schooners, with sixteen 
white men and several Kroomen The captain and super- 
cargo had a copy of Lander's chart on a large scale, and were very 
sanguine of getting up the Niger into the Eboe country, with the 
brig ; a tiling utterly impossible ; for in the whole distance of the first 
twenty miles up, there is in some parts only one fathom and a half 
water. However the captain felt convinced he could go up the 
river, and proceeded up for the purpose of examining it in his whale 
boat. He had not gone far, before he was satisfied that to take the 
brig up was impossible. . . . The captain of the American brig 
received the intelligence of the supercargo's death, when performing 
the last ceremony over the corpse of his carpenter ; and there being 
no medical assistance on board, he lost nearly all his hands. Fever 
had appeared among them, and in less than six weeks, his crew of 
sixteen was reduced to five ! To add to the misfortunes of these 
I Americans, on one dark and stormy night, eight or ten Kroomen 
ran away with the brig's boat, with buckets and five boarding-pikes. 
... A short time after the foregoing transaction, the captain of the 
Agenoria (Captain Pearce) died, and the mate took charge of the 
vessel and sailed for Rhode Island. Their whole expedition was 
thus unfortunately terminated : goods were given for nearly one 
hundred puncheons of palm oil, not one quarter of which were paid." 

After noticing the custom prevalent and general in 
these parts, of sacrificing on the death of a chief 
several of his wives, Oldfield proceeds to give us the 
following account of a female, the wife of a deceased 
chief, who was exposed to be devoured by sharks, for 
having, as was alleged, wished the death of the chief:— 



X 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



" I approached the place from whence the cries proceeded, which 
was about twenty yards from the water's edge, on the sand, and 
I there saw a woman lying chained to a log of wood, with her arms 
and legs pinioned, awaiting the period of high water, to be launched 
into the sea, there to become the unhappy prey of voracious sharks. 
. . I remonstrated with the brother on the absurdity of the 
charge ; I determined to try to save the poor woman ; I hastened 
to Dido, the pilot, who also interceded, but the chief made the fol- 
lowing reply : 'White man's fash, no be black man's fash;' which, 
being interpreted, meant, that they allowed us our customs, and we 
ought to allow them theirs. After a palaver which lasted nearly 
three hours, owing to the influence of Dido, who is a good man, the 
chief agreed to liberate his sister-in-law, provided he might sell 
her to a slaver. We proceeded to the water's edge, which was 
now within a few feet of the poor creature. Her arms and legs 
were disengaged, but, owing to the severe pressure which had 
been used, she could not walk until she was actually under her 
own roof. Indeed, so unexpected and unlooked-for had been 
her rescue, that she could not believe we were in earnest. She 
then pressed my hand with gratitude, and looked what her heart 
felt. In a short time after this she completely recovered her 
spirits, and went on board a slaver without any emotion, for 
she had no one to live for, or no one to care for." 

Such is the Nun, one of the most deadly of the 
many sickly rivers of Africa, and moreover, without 
one redeeming quality, and clearly unfit to become the 
channel for any great commercial communication with 
the countries in the interior ! Such are the chiefs 
and the population around it ! Moreover, where an 
American navigator in pursuit , of gain could not go, 
even in a whale boat, does any sane Englishman think 
that he can find out or make a safe navigable passage ? 
And is this the road chosen to open up the proposed 
great commercial and agricultural schemes, which are 
to civilize, to enlighten, and to cultivate Africa ? Is 
it possible, that after all our acquired knowledge, after 
all our bitter and dear-bought experience, that such 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xi 



should be our conduct in this most important matter, 
and at this critical moment ? yet so it is, and being- so, 
forms another chapter in that dark and mischievous 
volume which records all our erroneous acts, and all our 
ill-digested proceedings, in Africa and towards Africa. 

The points where a navigable access to the interior 
can be most easily obtained by the Niger, are clearly 
by the Rio dos Forcados, or the Rio de Formosa, or 
both. The former at its separation is 600 or 700 
yards broad, and six fathoms deep. Slave ships go up 
it by the mouth named the Rio dos Escravos, or 
Brody, to Warree, where the river it is believed be- 
comes one stream, and which is only thirty-eight miles 
from the point of separation from the Nun. But what 
is, in my opinion, decidedly the best, and the most 
open, and easiest accessible of the whole, is the Rio de 
Formosa. From its mouth to the point of separation 
of the large branch above Eboe, is a distance of only 
eighty-five miles. At its mouth it is four British miles 
wide, and the branch above mentioned, which is 
clearly the Formosa, at the point of separation is 800 
yards* wide, and from ten feet to six fathoms deep. 
I have conversed with a trader who had been up this 
river from sixty to seventy miles, and who described 
it as both broad and deep, a vast and noble body of 
water ; and have seen other traders who have traded 
with natives who had come down it, from very 
distant countries in the interior. While writing this, 
my friend, Mr. Robert Jamieson, of Liverpool, a gen- 
tleman to whom Africa is much indebted, and who is 

* Through a channel connected with Laird's expedition, it was 
communicated to me after its return, that this branch was 1200 
yards wide, 



Xll 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



likely, by his prudent and persevering conduct, to 
render her more efficient service than any one I know, 
has transmitted me the extract of a letter which he has 
received from Captain Beecroft, engaged in his ser- 
vice, written in the Rio de Formosa a few months ago, 
and up which river Captain Beecroft is, by this time, 
engaged in prosecuting a voyage into the interior. 
His letter is dated a few miles above Gatto Creek. 
In the course upwards, says he, " we have a noble 
reach in sight before us, extending about twelve miles 
in the bearing E.N.E., (not fifty miles from Eboe): 
"sounded, and found four fathoms and a half." The 
river, he adds, is vastly superior in every respect 
to the Nun or Brass, and he is satisfied, from all he 
had seen and heard, that it communicated with Eboe. 
The Rio de Formosa, it is obvious, has nearly a direct 
course, which necessarily will render it more free 
from islands and sand banks than rivers, the courses 
of which are very tortuous. Here then is the point 
which, during the space of twenty years, I have 
always maintained is the navigable entrance into the 
interior of Africa. The Bonny branch is also well 
worthy of attention. It is very deep at its mouth, 
and is clearly a very large outlet of the Niger. So 
also I apprehend the great outlet of the Old Calabar 
will be found to be. Cross river is navigated by ships 
of large tonnage, to about 6° 15' N. lat., and the most 
easterly branch of it is navigable for several days 
farther, but the depth is not stated. 

Assuming that the Rio de Formosa is the best and 
safest navigable mouth of the Niger, and equal to 
secure, as I believe it is, a commercial communication 
with distant countries in the interior of Northern 
Africa, it follows that Cape Coast Castle, or Accra, 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Xlll 



a British settlement on the Gold Coast, may be made 
the exterior point of defence and communication. 
This place is as near the Rio de Formosa as Fernando 
Po is; and from the prevailing* winds and currents 
between it and the Formosa, the intercourse would 
be fully quicker than between Fernando Po and the 
Formosa. Accra is also one of the healthiest spots on 
the coast, and has moreover a considerable commercial 
intercourse with influential people in the interior. 
This is a point well worthy the serious attention and 
consideration of the British government, more espe- 
cially at this moment. 

The accompanying- map and subsequent narrative 
will show your Lordship the rivers and the points 
through which, it is humbly conceived, from authority 
which cannot be doubted, Africa can only be pene- 
trated by means of the great river Niger ; but should 
these turn out to be as little fitted for navigation and 
commerce to and with the interior, as the Nun is 
known to be, then we may relinquish our views of 
doing any permanent good in the interior of Africa, 
because we cannot reach it ; and without we can reach 
it, no lasting good can ever be done to Africa, nor 
any effectual stop be put to the African slave trade. 

Individuals may still be found who will, from 
various motives, peril their lives in undertakings 
which embrace such clear and obvious dangers ; but 
wherefore should Great Britain and her Government 
peril immense interests on the part of the British 
empire ; and, at the same time, the improvement and 
the salvation of Africa, by listening to hasty counsels 
founded upon imperfect knowledge and erroneous 
data, and, at the same time, be saddled with a very 
heavy expense into the bargain ? A dreadful respon- 



xiv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



sibility rests upon the Colonial Office of Great Britain, 
if it knowingly or carelessly risks a danger and a 
result like this. 

Connected with the subject of African discovery, 
there are a class of men who might be made more 
eminently useful in that pursuit, and at less expense 
than any other. These are, the missionaries who 
proceed to spread the truths of the Gospel into 
Africa. These individuals, in their noble cause, must 
frequently be exposed to many hardships and incon- 
veniences, perhaps, from the want of pecuniary means, 
or from the want of a known channel and a responsi- 
ble name through which and by which they could obtain 
these. Such is the name, and influence, and know- 
ledge of the British Government throughout the 
world, that their servants and agents, civil, naval, 
military, and political, might, in almost every in- 
stance, and in every quarter where such incon- 
veniences may arise, be made the means of relieving, 
countenancing, and aiding these worthy men in every 
way by which their wants could be relieved, or their 
objects accelerated. These missionaries also might 
be qualified to make geographical, and to take astro- 
nomical, observations, &c. A few thousand pounds — 
10,000/. annually, my Lord, spent in this way, would 
prove more effectual in spreading knowledge, and in- 
dustry, and civilization in Africa, than half a million 
annually spent in external efforts to extinguish the 
foreign African slave trade. 

It is 300 years since these portions of Africa around 
the delta of the Niger were known to Europeans ; 
more than two centuries since England began to trade 
constantly and closely with them ; during all of which 
period our commercial and naval marine has been in 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



XV 



the practice of visiting all the mighty rivers on this 
portion of the coast, even taking surveys and sound- 
ings of them ; and yet, it would appear, that no one 
has ever endeavoured to find out, or even to inquire, 
where they came from ; nor has one single rational 
attempt on the part of a great naval power like Great 
Britain hitherto been made to explore streams which are 
known, and which might have been supposed, to lead 
to one of the noblest rivers in the world : a correct 
knowledge of which, moreover, would have conferred 
such inestimable advantages upon herself, upon Africa, 
and upon the whole human race. Yet such is the fact, 
and such a fact is an indelible disgrace to this country. 

The present British settlements also on the coasts 
of Africa, are one and all of them the worst places 
that possibly could have been chosen, whether con- 
sidered in a political, or in a commercial, or in an 
agricultural point of view, for the purpose of spread- 
ing industry, knowledge, and civilization amongst 
the population of Africa. They come into im- 
mediate contact only with the most ignorant, de- 
graded, demoralized, and disunited portions of the 
African population. They open up no great line of 
communication with the comparatively intelligent 
nations of the interior. They command nothing, 
they influence nothing, and they are neither feared 
nor respected, nor followed, in Africa. They have 
done, it may safely be said, nothing ; at least, all that 
they have effected, after an incredible and ruinous 
expense, is comparatively but as a drop in the bucket, 
and a grain in the balance, to improve Africa. As 
they stand, they are merely nurseries for the support, 
the aid, and the maintenance of the foreign slave trade. 
The goods they import and sell, form, to a great 



xvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



extent, the machinery by which the slaves are bought. 
The disposers of these goods can neither avoid nor 
prevent this result, if they attempt either to do 
business with those countries which carry on a traffic 
with Africa, or business with Africa herself. Further, 
the capture of slave ships adds to the evil. Carried 
into Sierra Leone, the goods which they have on 
board are condemned and sold at auction, purchased 
in, for, or by, the slave traders, who come from other 
parts of the coast for the purpose, and thus, at much 
less than half the original cost, and, in a still greater 
proportion, less than these could be imported and 
brought from Europe to the coast of Africa, the slave 
trader gains the means to carry on the traffic more 
easily. Each slave trader thus adds so much more profit, 
perhaps 4000/, or 5000/. sterling, on each ship, and to 
each voyage. Again, the credits given by British mer- 
chants and manufacturers in certain foreign countries, 
enable the slave traders in these countries to take 
either ready money or these goods, with which they 
proceed to Africa to purchase slaves ; and on their 
return, the great profits which they obtain enable 
them to pay for the goods previously bought. It also 
not unfrequently happens that the agents for these 
goods are, to a certain extent, directly engaged in the 
speculation. These things are no secrets in other 
places, no, not even in England, where numbers of 
manufacturers and mechanical establishments do no- 
thing else but get up and bring forward articles for 
the African markets and African slave trade, with a 
perfect knowledge that these articles are brought for- 
ward and sold for the purpose last mentioned. The 
regular merchant is everywhere beat by those con- 
nected with the traffic alluded to, because the great 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xvii 



profits which are obtained in that trade enable those 
who partake of it to under-sell the legitimate traders 
in every article. On the coast of Africa the sales 
by auction of British goods are destructive to all 
honest commerce. The legitimate merchants can no 
where compete with the slave-goods traders and pur- 
chasers at such markets ; while the destruction of the 
slave vessels captured, considering the small number 
that are captured, only gives additional employment 
to the builders in the United States. The slave 
trader can always get his vessel insured at ten or 
twelve per cent., and these are still the most profitable 
risks that American and other underwriters can take. 
Moreover, the vessels, when broken up, are taken to 
pieces in such a way that they can soon be put to- 
gether again, when they proceed in their original 
object. 

The whole system pursued by this country, in order 
to put down the African slave trade, is, in every part 
thereof, and in every country, wrong — grossly and 
mischievously wrong. Hence our failure, hence we 
are beaten, hence we are unsuccessful, and will prove 
unsuccessful so long as enormous profits array the 
passions, the interests, and the avarice of all the 
avaricious, and money-making, and money-seeking 
portion of our species against us. 

European nations, as has already been adverted to, 
have been trading with and settled in several parts of 
the western coasts of Africa for more than 300 years, 
and previous to the discovery of the greater portion 
of the continent of America. As regards her tropical 
climates, Africa is in no respect inferior to the portion 
of the American continent situated within the same 
parallels. The climate is equally fine, the land 

c 



xvin 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



equally fertile and productive ; the productions of the 
soil of Africa are not only equal to, but even more nu- 
merous and valuable than those which were found in the 
continent of America when first discovered. The popu- 
lation of both continents was not materially different in 
point of knowledge and industry ; nay, so far as com- 
merce is concerned, the African population excelled 
the American. In that description of wealth, also, 
which Europeans then and now so generally and 
greedily sought, namely, gold, Africa is, and always 
was, more abundant than ever America has been 
found to be. It is astonishing the quantity of gold 
which is yearly collected in and exported from Africa 
to various quarters. The different European nations 
at this moment carry away a great amount in value 
from her western shores, and which, great as it is, 
there is reason to believe is small when compared to 
the quantity carried off yearly from Soudan, Abyssinia, 
&c, by the numerous caravans of Moors and Arabs 
which cross the Great Desert to different states on 
the Mediterranean, and also the Red Sea into Arabia. 
These caravans are not only many in number, but each 
caravan consists of a great number of traders, scarcely 
one of whom but carries more or less gold with him, 
all of which is collected in Soudan. Carried first to 
the Mahommedan states on the shores of the Medi- 
terranean, it next silently finds its way into Europe 
and western Asia, and forms, without the civilized 
world thinking or inquiring much about the matter, 
the chief source of the supply of that metal which 
furnishes to these states the principal means for keeping 
up and extending their gold circulation. There is 
the best reason, also, to believe that the same source, 
namely, Africa, supplied the treasuries of the great 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xix 



monarchies of western Asia, of the mighty Roman 
empire, and also those of the various states which, 
in the east and in the west, rose upon the ruins of 
that empire. Europeans carry away at this moment, 
probably, 500,000/. in value yearly from the western 
coasts ; and the quantity and value carried across the 
Great Desert, in various directions, certainly exceed 
that sum. The imports into Morocco alone, thirty 
years ago, from Soudan, was about 10,000,000 Spanish 
dollars in value, a very large portion of which was gold 
dust. Jackson states, that a sovereign of Morocco, 
in the year 1590, brought away, in plunder and in 
tribute, from Timbuctoo and other states, the enor- 
mous quantity of 135 quintals, (the tribute of Tim- 
buctoo yearly w r as 60 quintals,) 16,065 lbs. avoirdupois, 
962,100/. of gold.* This gold is principally found in 
the countries around the sources of the Senegal and 
the Joliba, in the different provinces of Ashantee, 
also to the eastward amongst the hills of Jacoba, 
the places around the sources of the Shadda, on both 
branches of the Egyptian Nile, and the great rivers 
which rise to the southward of these and flow into 
the Indian Ocean. The following curious extract 
from Bosnian's Guinea will show us the quantity of 
gold carried away by Europeans from that portion 
of Africa one hundred and thirty-seven years ago : 

* If the Chancellor of the Exchequer had such an annual tribute 
as this in his power, it would go to save him much trouble and 
uneasiness ; and yet, if common sense and common honesty had 
been attended to in our dealings with Africa, a much greater annual 
revenue might have been raised to Great Britain from the produce 
of the African soil, and this, too, produced and procured equally to 
the advantage of Africa and of Great Britain. 

c 2 



XX 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



" My last treated of the inland countries from whence the gold 
was brought, how it was digged, its several sorts, the false gold, &c. 
To pursue our subject yet further, as I have told you whence it is 
brought, it is but necessary I should inform you whither it is carried, 
and how much is yearly brought to the coast. As for the last, I dare 
affirm it as a real truth, that they not only can, but do yearly, in 
time of peace, deliver the quantity of seven thousand marks of gold. 
This is a large sum ; but it is divided amongst so many, each being 
sure to get some, that the whole is soon disposed of. The most 
just calculation of the division that I can possibly make is as 
follows : — viz. 

Marks. 

Our West India Company yearly exports . . . 1500 
The English African Company ..... 1200 
But this is to be understood of such years in which 
the commerce of both Companies happens to be very 
brisk ; and I do not believe our Company hath, for 
several years past, carried off above the half of this 
quantity. 

The Zealand interlopers are sure to carry off as much 

yearly as our Company, namely . . . .1500 

The English interlopers about ..... 1000 
But the last have, for two or three years past, 
pursued this trade so vigorously, that they have ex- 
ported above twice that quantity. 

The Brandenburghers and Danes, in time of peace, both 

together, about 1000 

The Portuguese and French, together, at least, about . 800 

Which makes .... 7000 



"According to our reckoning, then, there is brought hither and 
carried off exactly twenty-three ton of gold,* reckoning three marks 
to 1000 guilders. But, as I told you., above all, this account sup- 
poseth a prosperous time, when the passes are all open, and the 
merchants can pass safe and uninterrupted ; but when the negroes 
are at war with one another, I do not believe that half this quantity 

* At the present price of gold, this would amount to the vast sum of 
3,406,575*. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xxi 



is shipped off ; and of this small quantity the interlopers know very- 
well how to come by their share. And supposing our Company hath 
one-fifth of the whole, yet, when trade is low, they cannot get by it, 
but must make up the deficiency by trading to other coasts." — 
Bosnian's Guinea^ Pinkerton's Collection, pp. 375, 376. 

The facts previously stated regarding Africa, her 
wealth, and her capabilities, being clear and incontro- 
vertible, is it not strange that European nations have 
passed her by, and so neglected her in every way that 
could either have been permanently useful or advan- 
tageous to themselves or to her ? Yet such is the 
fact. They have done so, and run after establishing 
themselves in quarters less wealthy, less productive, 
more distant \ not more healthy, nor their population 
higher in the scale of civilization than the natives of 
Africa are or were when Europeans first came in 
contact with them, on either the western or the eastern 
coasts of that continent. The cause of this neglect 
was the fatal error into which every European nation, 
after the discovery of America, fell ; namely, carrying 
away the labour of Africa from Africa to cultivate 
the islands and fields of America, instead of instruct- 
ing and placing that African labour to cultivate the 
fields of Africa. What enormous and incalculable 
evils has this error inflicted upon Africa and upon 
the human race ! 

However dark and gloomy the true condition of 
Africa may appear to the inquirer — and dark and 
gloomy it indeed is, and must be admitted to be — still, 
it is not, fairly speaking, greatly worse than the con- 
dition of all Asia, and most part of Europe was in 
the early periods of their history. In and over both 
quarters slavery, as in Africa, was always the lot of 
the vanquished — and the murder and extermination 



XXII 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



of prisoners of war, before the shrines of their deities, 
in their public games, and at the tombs of their de- 
parted friends and chiefs, were carried on in the quar- 
ters adverted to, to an extent exceeded only by what is 
done, seen, and witnessed in Africa at this moment. 
African ignorance, superstition, barbarity, and degra- 
dation, is so far worse, greater, and blacker, that there 
does not appear, throughout all her borders, one 
ray of civilization that, without a foreign civilized 
impulse, can ever, from any internal change, impulse, 
or exertion, lead to a better state of things, which was 
not the case in the other quarters of the world. 

This brings us to consider the European African 
slave trade. The consideration or inquiry must here 
be confined to the state and extent of that trade fifty 
years ago, what it now is, and the immense expense 
which this country has voluntarily, but in vain, 
incurred to put it down. In considering these points, 
errors, vastly greater and infinitely more fatal in their 
results than the errors committed in following out 
African discovery, will clearly appear. 

It is now Mty years since Great Britain commenced 
offensive warfare against the African slave trade. 
The extent to which Europeans at that time carried 
it on, gave the number of 66,000 carried away (carried 
away, be it observed, from Africa) yearly, in the fol- 
lowing proportions : 

Great Britain (of whom 20,000 were resold) 30,000 

Portugal 20,000 

France, Holland, Denmark 16,000 

At this day, although Great Britain, France, &c. 
have long since completely abolished the traffic, the 
number imported into the Brazils, Cuba, and Porto 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



XX111 



llico, according to Mr. Buxton's recent work on the 
slave trade, is 150,000. This is a work of great 
research and enormous labour, which every one should 
read who wishes fully to be acquainted with this sub- 
ject ; although he who reads must stand appalled and 
astonished, as I feel assured the author, in following 
out his subject, must have been at the result. The 
work alluded to leaves little for me to state on the 
subject. The number alluded to is the number im- 
ported, be it observed, into these countries and places, 
not the number carried away from Africa, which is 
quite a different thing. But Mr. Buxton might, 
from documents which I know to be correct, and which 
I have in my possession, have added to this number 
at least 40,000 more, and still not exceeded the truth. 
Thus, considering the mortality which takes place on 
the passage at only 15 per cent. — much lower than 
Mr. Buxton has taken it to be — it is clear that the 
African slave trade has really and actually trebled 
in amount, and besides increased in horrors ten- 
fold ! ! 

Mr. Buxton, in his able work alluded to, sets down 
the extent of the African slave trade across the 
northern desert, and that from the eastern shores 
of Africa, at 50,000 yearly. Had that gentleman been 
fully acquainted with all the facts of his case, he might 
have set down that portion of the African slave trade, 
that is, the number carried away, at 100,000 yearly, 
and still been within the truth. Take, for example, 
the reference which he has made to Lyon's account 
of the number he saw brought to Mourzook— 6,000 ; 
but then this was only the number brought into that 
place during half the year, and in the portion thereof, 
too, during which the smallest number is brought ; 



xxiv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



and further, it is only the number brought in by two 
roads, and these not the most frequented, out of four 
roads which run from Soudan to that place. Also, as 
regards the number to Morocco, by a reference to 
Sidi Hamed ; that caravan with which he travelled was, 
in the first place, not a regular but a supernumerary 
caravan, composed of stragglers belonging to the other 
caravans from places on the shores of the Mediterranean 
—the remains of the regular caravans, who, not having 
got their business finished in time to leave Timbuctoo 
before the commencement of the rains, left it, as is 
customary in such cases, as soon as the violence of these 
was over. It was not, moreover, any of the Morocco 
regular caravans, nor did it go by any of the direct 
Morocco roads, of which there are several from 
Timbuctoo, but took, for the reasons mentioned, 
the general road for the north by Mahbrook and 
Twat. 

Let a few facts be adduced* in proof of the increased 
slave trade. In 1791, according to Sir George Staun- 
ton, the slave population of Brazils, before the Monte 
Videan provinces were separated from her, amounted 
to 600,000. The importation at that time was about 
20,000, but it rose after that period to 30,000, and 
before 1808, to 40,000 yearly. Take, however, the 
average for 17 years at 30,000; then, according to 
Signor Calmon's statement, made in the legislature of 
Bahia a few years ago, the average annual decrease, 
beyond the natural increase, is five per cent. ; so that, 
with the above importations, the slave population of 
the Brazils in 1808, the year in which Great Britain 
abolished the traffic, could not have exceeded what 
it was in 1791. Look what it is now ! According to 
the Government Census of 1833, the latest authentic 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



XXV 



account which I have seen, the number of slaves 
registered in the Brazils, exclusive of the Montevidean 
territories, was in round numbers 2,100,000, and this 
number, be it observed, after all the decrease which 
takes place in seasoning*, and the numbers which have 
been enfranchised, and all the numbers which have 
perished in the middle passage. This great increase, 
(1,500,000) shows clearly, that during the last thirty 
years, more than 75,000* must have been annually 
carried aivay from Africa to the Brazils, or nearly 
four times as many as were carried away for that 
quarter of the world in 1791 ! ! 

Similar are the results with regard to Cuba and 
Porto Rico. Their united slave population in 1808, or 
rather at the 1st of January, 1808, could not exceed 
128,785; it is now, most probably, 700,000. According 
to the valuable statistical work of Don Ramon de la 
Sarga, printed at Havannah in 1 83 1 , there were, in 1 792, 
in Cuba 84,590 slaves. According to the Edinburgh 
Gazetteer, a work of great research and accuracy, the 
number in 1804 was 108,000. The number in Porto 
Rico (see official returns for that island in Porter's 

* According to Lord Palmerston's note to Mr. Bandieria, dated 
April 20th, 1839, there entered the port of the Havannah in 1837, 
forty-eight Portuguese vessels with slaves, and in 1838, there entered 
forty-four vessels, and which his lordship averages at 443 slaves 
each, or 40,700. In the year 1837, at Rio de Janeiro, ninety-three 
Portuguese vessels landed 41,600 ; and in 1838, eighty-four vessels 
landed at the same place 36,700 negroes. The two ports mentioned 
do not receive one-half the number of Africans which are landed in 
Cuba and in the Brazils yearly, if so many ; but the yearly number 
landed, at the rate even of one-half, will be 119,000, and about 
7,000 captured and liberated. These numbers above given, be it 
observed, are the numbers landed from Portuguese flags alone, 
exclusive of Brazilian, American, and Montevidean, &c. flags en- 
gaged in the same traffic. 



xxvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Tables, No. vii. p. 324,) in 1802, was 13,333, and 
17,536 in 1812, which will bring- out the number in 
1808, in Porto Rico, to be 15,433. The number in 
Cuba, in 1808, or at the beginning' of January, 1808, 
by the preceding ratio of increase, would be 113,352 — 
together 128,785. According to Don La Sarga's work 
just referred to, the increase of slaves in Cuba, accord- 
ing to the registrations, was in 1829 and 1830, two 
years, 178,000, being at the rate of 89,000 per annum ! 
All this increase, moreover, is exclusive of the number 
enfranchised, which in Spanish colonies is admitted 
and known to be considerable, (in the two years above 
alluded to, the number of free blacks in Cuba increased 
from 49,000 to 74,000— about fifty per cent.) ; the 
very great number lost, especially of late years, in 
the seasoning, and the very great number lost in the 
middle passage, owing to the crow T ded state in which 
the negroes are now brought from Africa ; and which, 
taken together by the same ratio as has been applied 
to the Brazils, will give the number carried away from 
Africa, for Cuba and Porto Rico, to have been yearly, 
during the last thirty years, at least 34,000 ; but as the 
slave trade for the Spanish colonies has chiefly com- 
menced since the close of the war, say 1816, the number 
carried away yearly since that period, but especially of 
late years, has undoubtedly been more than double 
that number. The Spanish slave trade has, in fact, been 
wholly created since 1808. " Before the abolition by 
Great Britain," says Sir Henry Willis, (Despatch, 
Madrid, August 14th, 1814, Par. vol. xiii. of 1814- 
1815,) " there was literally no Spanish slave trade. No 
Spanish ship had been seen on the coast of Africa for 
a century, except one in 1797 and 1798, fitted out by 
the Prince of Peace." Besides all the numbers above 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xxvii 



mentioned, there is the number, at least 300,000, 
which must be added for the number (150,000) carried 
away for the French colonies, Mexico, &c, and the 
number (150,000 more) carried away for the United 
States subsequent to 1808, and until the periods 
when all these countries finally abolished the African 
slave trade, the whole together giving, during latter 
years, probably five times the number that was car- 
ried away from Africa for these places yearly before 
1808. 

Admitting that the number in 1808, in all these 
places mentioned, maintained itself by natural in- 
crease, (but which is by no means probable) ; and ad- 
mitting that the loss during the passage across the 
Atlantic, the number lost in seasoning, together with 
the number required to make good enfranchisements, 
are only twenty-five per cent. ; it is plain, that, — in- 
cluding say 140,000 captured and enfranchised, and 
destroyed under that system, as also the number carried 
away for the Brazils from 1834 to 1839, both inclusive, 
to be say 640,000,— then since the 1st of January, 
1808, there must have been carried away from 
Africa, for different parts, by Europeans, 3,860,000 
people. 

Until the appointment of the mixed Commission 
Courts in 1819, Sierra Leone was, except for a few 
years subsequent to 1808, the only place where cap- 
tures made could be adjudicated. -According to the 
annexed Parliamentary Returns, the number of slave 
ships captured and condemned, and the number of 
slaves captured, and condemned and liberated, for 
certain periods, were as follows : — 



XXVlll 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Froi 



1808 to 1819* 
180S to 1814 f 
1819 to 1829 J 
1819 to 1829 § 
1829 to 1839 11 



Vessels. Slaves. Average No. in each. 

. 73 11,280 
. 40 

. 79 12,154 154 
. 16 

. 244 57,073 260 
452 



From 1828 to 1838 inclusive, the number of ships 
captured was 258, of which number thirty-four had no 
slaves ; and of this latter number fourteen were re- 
stored. Of this number, 244, condemned, 197, or 
four-fifths of the whole, were condemned in Sierra 
Leone. This affords a scale for determining the 
number (sixteen,) which would be condemned in the 
other mixed courts between 1819 and 1829. The 
average number of persons on board those ships con- 
demned, from the above returns, will be 208 ; and, 

* Par. Pap. No. 275 of 1829. — For the Sierra Leone Courts, 

f Par. Pap. No. 342 of 1813-14; gives the number condemned in all parts, 
112 — including, of course, Sierra Leone. 

% Par. Pap. No. 275 of 1829.— For the Sierra Leone Courts. 

§ The proportion for Courts not at Sierra Leone, as after stated. 

|| Par. Pap. No. 533 of 1838, and return to House of Lords of the same 
year : this last thus stated : 



Years. 
1828 


Slaves on 
Board. 
5,582 


Landed at 
Sierra Leone. 
3,309 


Landed at 
Havannah. 
1,033 


Landed 
B. W. Ind 


1829 


6,607 


4,927 


963 




1830 


7,659 


3,439 


287 




1831 


1,851 


1,468 




157 


1832 


3,399 


2,325 


888 




1833 


3,427 


2,569 


685 




1834 


5,761 


4,020 


807 


162 


1835 


7,711 


4,694 


2,305 




1836 


8,930 


5,609 


1,313 


1,407 


1837 


6,146 


4,017 


257 


1,333 


Total . 


. 57,073 


36,377 


8,538 


3,059 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xxix 



adding for the mortality on board, say ten per cent., 
230 in round numbers will be the number carried 
away from Africa in each vessel. Dividing the total 
number, 3,860,000, carried away from Africa since 
1808, by 230, gives 16,784 ships' trips, or voyages, 
that have been made ; and dividing this latter number 
by 452, the number of ships that have been captured, 
gives 37, — the number w T hich escapes for each that 
has been captured ! Dividing, again, the number 
of ships, 452, that have been condemned, by 31, 
gives fourteen and a half, the average yearly number 
which have been captured since 1808 ; and lastly, 
multiplying the total number of ships captured, 452, by 
the average number, 230, carried away in each captured 
ship from Africa, gives 103,960, the total number 
carried away by this portion of ships engaged in the 
slave trade. But the average for each vessel is here taken 
probably too low, and 300 is, perhaps, the correct 
number, which will bring the captured in the propor- 
tion to one in thirty. Of all the latter number captured, 
also, it deserves to be remarked, that with the exception 
of a few hundreds scattered over the West Indian islands, 
only 36,700 # (including, of course, whatever natural 
increase there has been amongst them,) remained in 
Sierra Leone in June, 1838 ! What a scene of destruc- 
tion does even this portion disclose ; and who, after 
the picture which has been above presented to the view, 
can wonder that the African slave trade, notwith- 
standing all the obstructions which have been thrown 
in its way, has so fearfully increased ! 
Thus, to capture, say fifteen slave ships, and no more, 

* The total number that have been emancipated and registered at 
Sierra Leone up to 30th June, 1838, is 46,887. (See Papers, Class 
D. of! 839, p. 5.) 



XXX 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



annually, this country pays 600,000/. ! This expen- 
diture for one year, judiciously, justly, and energetically 
laid out in Africa, would plant industry, and security, 
and knowledge, in the very heart of that continent, 
from whence these would speedily spread to the ex- 
tremities, and forthwith save any additional or future 
expenditure, — expenditure, too, under the present 
system, to be laid out without accomplishing any 
one good object, or obtaining, either to this country 
or Africa, any advantage whatever. 

At the above rates of loss in transportation and 
seasoning, the present slave population of the different 
countries will give the total number carried away by 
Europeans, from the commencement of the slave trade, 
to have been as under : — 



Jamaica to 1808 730,000 

All the other present British Colonies . . . 1,030,000 

The present French Colonies 640,000 

Ditto Dutch ditto 50,000 

Ditto Danish ditto 50,000 

Colombia, Mexico, &c 152,000 

Hayti to the Revolution 1,150,000 



United States of America (uncertain) say . . 1,500,000 
Cuba, Porto Rico, Brazils, and captured and 

liberated since 1808 3,860,000 

Grand Total . . 9,168,000 



Great Britain abolished the slave trade thirty years 
ago, and has just emancipated, at an immediate cost of 
20,000,000/.,' 780,000 Africans and descendants of 
Africans. The contest which brought round this 
result commenced in 1823. Since that period, ac- 
cording to Mr. Buxton's work, 2,400,000 Africans 
have been enslaved and landed in foreign possessions, 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. XXXI 

after a destruction in the passage of fifteen per cent., 
(360,000) and above 80,000 captured and liberated. 
The real number, however, is, as has been shown, at 
least 600,000 more ; together, above four times the 
number that has been liberated by this country. Thus 
stands the arithmetical balance of the account between 
Europe and Africa! 

The result of all is, that the productions and exports, 
of all those countries more particularly mentioned, 
are more than quintupled. The value of produce at 
present exported from Cuba, Porto Rico, and Brazils, 
certainly exceeds 20,000,000/. sterling yearly, while 
the exports from the United States, (the produce of 
increased slave labour,) greatly exceeds the above sum, 
exclusive of the vast amount which is consumed in their 
own territories, and also within the other countries 
above mentioned. The following table, which has 
been taken from authentic returns in my possession, — 
and wherein the exports of sugar clayed from the 
under-mentioned places, are reduced to what is called 
Muscovado, in order to make the comparison accu- 
rate, — will establish the statement made. 

1808. 1837. 

Sugar. Coffee. Sugar. Coffee, 

cwts. lbs. cwts. lbs. 

Cuba . . 600,000 18,000,000 3,450,000 69,000,000 
Porto Rico. J, 420 291,200 750,000 7,000,000 

Brazils. . 400,000 24,440,000 2,400,000 134,000,000 

And this, be it also observed, in only two articles of 
production! Don Ramon Sarga's statistical work on 
Cuba, already quoted, states the exports, the produc- 
tions of the soil of that island, in 1830, at 50,000,000 
of dollars. The result of this enormous increase, 
coupled with the increase of cotton in the United 



XXX11 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA* 



States, has accordingly raised up, in several kingdoms, 
new and enormous commercial interests, all opposed 
to the commercial interests of Great Britain, and the 
vast ramifications of which extend into and throughout 
all the great commercial communities of every civilized 
country in the world. These interests are now become 
so vast, so strong, and so general, that they not only 
influence and regulate, but have changed the public and 
state policy of several of the mightiest governments 
in the world. They at the same time tend to give 
an irresistible impulse to the African slave trade — an 
impulse which, even if these states were more inclined 
than they appear to be to put it down, they dare not 
openly oppose or resist ; and which even Great Britain, 
my Lord, as you must know and feel, cannot venture 
openly and boldly to resist or to check, without pro- 
ducing open hostilities, or severe commercial obstruc- 
tions and disasters to this country. 

There is no use to blink the question. This is the 
present state of things, and this, too, after the pro- 
digious sums which, during the last thirty years, 
Great Britain has expended, to put down the foreign 
slave trade. Let us, for a moment, attend to this 
expenditure as it relates to Africa and the foreign 
slave trade alone, and as it can be drawn forth from 
unquestionable authority. 

African Slave Trade Returns. — Expenses to E?igland,l8Q8~l838. 

The expense of the navy is estimated herein by the number of 
men employed in the service, and the proportion to the cost of the 
whole naval department of the year. Furthermore, and in proof of 
the very great extent of this expenditure, the Quarterly Review, 
(No. 68, for September 1826, p. 605,) in an article, written by Sir 
John Barrow, says, "The expense of keeping a squadron constantly 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



XXX1U 



employed for the suppression of the slave trade, the bounty of 
ten pounds per head paid for every slave captured, and the salaries 
and other expenses of the mixed commission, which, altogether, we 
should imagine, fall not far short of half a million a year," &c. (This, 
be it observed, for the coast of Africa only.) 

In this statement the reader and the public will bear in mind that 
only a portion of the expenditure on account of the African slave 
trade is adverted to. There are several other heads, under which 
there are branches of expenditure, containing many heavy additional 
sums, which, when collected together, as they are in the subsequent 
references, selected from official documents, will make the total sum 
much greater than the data which the Quarterly Review gives, even 
after the expenditure under the three heads which he enumerates 
is limited to his scale. The following tables will bring the whole 
plainly and clearly before the reader : — 



AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE RETURNS. 

£ £ 

Navy, African Coasts, 32 years, at 255,000/. 8,160,000 
Do. part W. Indies and part S. America, 

32 years, at 127,000/. ...... 4,064,000 

12,224,000 



Expenditure in and for Sierra Leone. 

Original Capital for the Company, last . . 240,000 

Paid by Government for it, 1808 . . . . 100,000 

Ditto ditto, Sundries to Company* . . . 55,000 

Ditto do. Maxwell's ravages at Rio Pongas. 20,000 
Public works, Sierra Leone and Gambia, 
Par. Pap. 57 of 1830, and others (Church 

cost 50,000/.) 200,000 

Expense of removing Maroons and black 

troops (Jour. H. Com. vol. 66) ... 21,557 



Amount carried forward £636,557£12,224,O00 



* Special Report African Institution, p. 139. Mr. Macaulay's letter to the 
Duke of Gloucester, p. 39, &c. and further, by the same letter, p. 58, the sum 
of 24,474/. 2«. 5d. claimed, 18,000/. of which had been paid. 

d 



XXxiv IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 

£ £ 

Amount brought forward 12,224,000 

Brought up . . 636,557 

Expense of support of Maroons & black troops, 

say only five years, at 10,000/. per annum* 50,000 

Pensions, disbanded Africans, six years, end- 
ing 1825 .......... 61,000 

Colonial Revenue spent, Par. Pap. No, 57? 

of 1830 62,321 

Colonial Contingencies, ditto ditto . . . 12,743 

Civil Establishment, &c. 1791 till 1800, 

(estimated) . . 90,000 

Ditto ditto, 1800 till 1807 (Jour. H. Com- 
mons, vol. 06) 90,000 

Ditto ditto, Extra Grants, 1800 to 1805, 

(Jour. H. Commons, vol. 6) .... 64,362 

Ditto ditto, 1808 to 1811 70,535 

Ditto ditto, 1807 to 1826 inclusive, (Annual 

Estimates) 331,536 

Ditto ditto, 1826 to 1837, ditto, (Finance 

Accounts) . . ' 179,670 

Ditto ditto, and Gambia, &c. 1838 and 1839, 

and 1840, (Finance Accounts) . . . 30,000 

1,678,724 

Gold Coast and Fernando Po. 

Gold Coast Yearly Grants, at 30,000/. from 

1808 to 1821 420,000 

Ditto ditto, 1822 to 1825, Finance and Com- 
missariat Accounts, &c. 1822, 1823, 1824, 

1825, and 1826 140,370 

Ditto ditto, 1826 to 1832, Returns 1826, 

1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, &c. .... 149,581 

Fernando Po, 1828 to 1833, Papers, 1829, 

1830, 1831, 1832, and 1833 .... 53,179 

763,130 

Amount carried forward £14,665,854 



* John King, Esq. stated the yearly expense to the Committee of the House 
to he 10,000Z. for the year. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



XXXV 



£ £ 
Amount brought forward 14,665,854 

Paid for Foreign Powers to relinquish Trade, 

&c. Portugal balance loan due, cancelled . 601,774 

Ditto, paid by Treaty, 1815, with Interest* 348,904 

Portugal, paid by Treaty, 1817, for Illegal 

Captures, since 1814* 300,000 

Ditto ditto, Grants for ditto, Finance Ac- 
counts 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1 836f . 276,399 

Spain, by Treaty, September, 1817 . . . 400,000 

United States, Slaves carried away, 1812, 

&c. Finance Accounts 1825, and 1828 J. 250,000 

Commissioners at Petersburgh for settling do. 

Accounts, 1824 and 1825 35,000 

Paid United States for Slaves wrecked and 

liberated in the Bahama Islands, about . 25,000 



2,237,077 



Bounties paid for Liberated Negroes. 
1808 till 1825 inclusive, Par. Pap. No. 399, 



Paid 



of 1827 § 








1826 Finance 


Accounts 


£35,437 


1827 


do. 


do. 


54,581 


1828 


do. 


do. 


33,411 


1829 


do. 


do. 


53,333 


1830 


do. 


do. 


81,640 


1831 


do. 


do. 


25,170 


1832 


do. 


do. 


15,153 


1833 


do. 


do. 


17,655 


1834 


do. 


do. 


19,874 


1835 


do. 


do. 


45,630 


1836 


do. 


do. 


28,128 



410,012 



Amount carried forward £894,356£16,902,931 

* The Parliamentary Papers do not enable us to distinguish if these sums are 
for separate purposes, or for one. 

t Considerable sums under this head must have been paid, or remain to be 
paid, for years subsequent to 1825, the last year (except 1836) here included. 

* 60,000/. more, it is stated, remain on this account. Besides other claims of 
a similar nature have been made, and some of them, it is thought, are paid. 

§ It is uncertain whether 1826 is included in this return or not. It is 
thcuffht that it is not. 

d 2 



xxxvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



£ £ £ 

Amount brought forward 16,902,931 
Brought up .... 894,356 
Paid 1837 Finance Accounts 41,274 

1838 do. ' do. 18,906 

1839 and 1840 do. suppose 50,000 

— 1,004,536 

Paid Head Money till 1826 56,000 

1,060,536 



Military Expenditure. 

Suppose for 1808 & 1809, it to be * 72,582 

1810. Par. Pap. 1 13 of 1811, p. 4, &c. 

Army Extraordinaries . . 36,291 

1811. Par. Pap. 234 of 1812, 4 do. 41,549 



1812. 


147 


of 1813, 4 do. 55,330 


1813. 


150 


of 1814, 4 do. 66,968 


1814. 


177 


of 1815, 5 do. 51,820 


1815. 


318 


of 1816, 5 do. 58,951 


1816. 


319 


of 1817, 4 do. 94,219 


1817. 


245 


of 1818, 4 do. 68,475 


1818. 


286 


of 1819, 4 do. 66,313 


1819. 


105 


of 1820, 3 do. 41,644 


1820. 


187 


of 1821, 3 do. 54,799 


1821. 


73 


of 1822, 3 do. 67,130 


1822. 


125 


of 1823, 3,4 do. 34,291 


1823. 


59 


of 1824, 3 do. 39,294 


1824. 


61 


of 1825, 3 do. 60,699 


1825. 


87 


of 1827, 55 do. 59,993 



970,348 

Amount carried forward £970,348 £17,963,467 



* Probably part of tbis estimated sum may be accounted for in tbe subsequent 
accounts, Tbe Commissariat accounts some years ago, were two years behind ; 
now they are only one; thus the account for 1837 is published and produced 
in 1839. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xxxvii 



Amount brought forward 
Brought up 

Army Estimates — Sums provided 
in England. 
[These run from 19,OO0Z. to 23,000/.— 
say 20,000Z. yearly; 18 years is 
3o'0,000Z. From 1825 the Commis- 
sariat Accounts are taken, which 
include every thing for the places 
mentioned.] 



1826. Commissariat Accounts . 


71,322 


1827. Ditto 


ditto . . , 


60,852 


1828. Ditto 


ditto . . . 


61,431 


1829. Ditto 


ditto 


51,758 


1830. Ditto 


ditto . . . 


38,095 


1831. Ditto 


ditto . . 


34,261 


1832. Ditto 


ditto . . . 


69,193 


1833. Ditto 


ditto 


60,193 


1834. Ditto 


ditto 


A 1 Q A PC 


1835. Ditto 


ditto . . . 


38,647 


1836. Ditto 


ditto 


56,392 


1837. Ditto 


ditto 


56,380 


1838, 1839, & 1840, at same rate . 


169,140 


Commissariat Accounts and Pay. 




1812. Par. Pap. No. 128 .. . 


2,018 


1816. Ditto 


250 for 1815 


3,654 


1816. Ditto 


118 .. . 


4,200 


1821. Ditto 


47 . . . 


1,528 


1823. Ditto 


18 . . . 


1,660 


1824. Ditto 


10 . . . 


1,665 


1825. Ditto 


23 . . . 


2,669 


1826. Ditto 


for 1825 . . 


2,750 



8 years (average 2,51 81.) . 



From 1810 to 1825, inclusive, at 
2,518Z. yearly, is .... . 



20,144 



17,963,467 



970,348 



809,009 



1,779,357 



40,288 



Amount carried forward . . . £19,783,102 



XXXVlll 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



£ £ £ 

Amount brought forward 19,783,102 

Ordnance Pay and Estimates. 

1812. Par.Pap.No.81,p.lO,Sierra 

Leone 2,348 

Par.Pap.No.81,p.lO, Senegal 12,425 
1819. Ditto 91, p. 8, Sierra 

Leone ....... 6,596 

1821. Par. Pap. No. 42, p. 8, Sierra 

Leone 6,337 

1822. Par. Pap. No. 28, pp. 9 and 

17, Sierra Leone . . . 3,724 

1823. Par. Pap. No. 69, pp. 10 and 

19, Sierra Leone . . . 2,757 

1825. Par. Pap. No. 61, for 1824 . 11,050 

1826 31,852 



Including fractional parts . . . 77,089 
Add for 8 years wanting, at the ave- 
rage of 1819, 1821, 1822, 

and 1823— 4,853?. 10s., is 38,828 



N.B. From 1825 the Commissariat and 
Ordnance Pay merge into the preced- 
ing Commissariat Accounts. 



115,917 



Support of Liberated Negroes. 

[Till 1817 the returns given are very 
defective. For the first half-year of 
1814 (see Par. Pap. 64 of 1817), the 
cost at Sierra Leone was 23,630/. 7s. S^d. 
The expenditure everywhere was, at 
that time, unchecked, and on a most 
extravagant scale. It is a moderate 
estimate to take it at 25,000/. per ann.] 

From 1809 till 1815, inclusive, 7 

years 175,000 

Amount carried forward . . £19,899,019 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xxxix 



£ £ £ 

Amount brought forward 19,899,019 

Brought up 175,000 

From 1815 till 1825, Par. Pap. 57 

of 1830 383,431 

Clothing from England, Estimates 
1825,10,0002.; ditto, 1826, 
12,000/.— average 11,000?. 
from 1825 to 1838, 13yrs. 143,000 

1826. Finance Accounts . . . . 40,000 

1827. Ditto ditto 35,000 

1828. Ditto ditto .... . 30,000 

1829. Ditto ditto . . . . . 30,000 

1830. Ditto ditto 35,000 

1831. Ditto ditto 25,000 

1832. Ditto ditto ..... 31,250 

1833. Ditto ditto 25,000 

1834. Ditto ditto , . . . . 25,000 

1835. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1836. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1837. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1838. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1839. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1840. Ditto ditto 20,000 

1,097,681 



Liberated Africans before 1826, 

West Indies* .... 274,370 



1,372,051 



Amount carried forward . . . .£21,271,070 



* See Col. Moody's Reports, 1825, &c. ; Par. Pap. 73 of 1821 ; Par. Pap. 325 
of 1823 ; Votes of 1826 ; Par. Pap. 389 of 1826 ; Par. Pap. 442 of 1824, &c. &c. 

Moreover the sums expended in the Mauritius and in the Cape of Good 
Hope are wanting. These were very considerable — say 2Q,000£. 

Also those liberated in Trinidad had tracts of land given to them, some as 
high as 16 acres, partly in cocoa cultivation, and worth a good deal of money — 
say worth 20,000/. 



xl IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 

£ £ £ 

Amount brought forward 21,271,070 

Salaries, fyc. to Slave Commissioners 
of Mixed Courts, Sierra Leone, 
Havannah, fyc. 

1819 to 1826. Finance Accounts, 

yearly, 8 years* . . . . 155,700 

1826. Finance Account, 1827 . . 18,000 

1827. Ditto ditto ..... 18,000 

1828. Ditto ditto 18,000 

1829. Ditto ditto 13,700 

1830. Ditto ditto 18,700 

1831. Ditto ditto 19,450 

1832. Ditto ditto ..... 16,500 

1833. Ditto ditto 16,500 

1834. Ditto ditto ..... 16,200 

1835. Ditto ditto 14,000 

1836. Ditto ditto 14,700 

1837. Ditto ditto ..... 14,700 

1838. Ditto ditto 14,700 

1839. Ditto ditto 14,700 

1840. Ditto ditto 14,700 



242,550 

398,250 



Under head, " Civil Contingencies," 

1816—1833, about . . 11,000 
Addition — Public Buildings, (See 

Fin. Comm. Report) . . 89,121 

Lands in Trinidad 40,000 

Expeditions to explore Africa, at 

least 50,000 

Illegal Capture (Dibuscadore Rep. 

Fin. Committee) ... 6,770 



196,891 



Amount carried forward . . .£21,866,21 



* Expense of Mixed Commission Courts was, for 1820, 24,800£. (See Finance 
Paper, 1821). The general yearly estimate then was 18,700£ 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xli 



£ £ £ 

Amount brought forward 21,866,211. 

Miscellaneous Sums. 

Commissioners to inquire about 

Africans liberated in West 

Indies — Sundries . . . 18,600 
Pensions — Disbanded Africans in 

West Indies, at 25,096Z. 

yearly, till 1826 ... 250,960 
Pensions — Ditto, 12 years, to 1838, 

at 15,0002. (Commissariat 

Accounts) 180,000 

Education Captured Negroes (Fi- 
nance Accounts) 1836 and 

1837 .23,500 

Revenue — Sierra Leone, 1826 to 

1840 inclusive, at 6,0002. 

yearly 90,000 

563,060 

£22,429,271 



Remarks. 

The Grants, which in many instances have been taken for the pre- 
ceding Expenditure, were generally insufficient for the particular 
object, when the deficiency was made up from "the aids" of the 
year and other contingencies. To bring these farther expenses for- 
ward, would require a tedious and laborious investigation through 
almost every public account since 1808. To judge of the sums 
demanded and paid for illegal captures, Par. Pap. No. 226 of 1822 
shows us the sums adjudicated by the Commissary judge in London : — 
Claimed, 471,9382. 145. 5d. ; awarded, 211,7742. 17s. 4d. ; and 
under adjudication, two claims, 69,8562.* 

* From Par. Pap. No. 494 of 1838, it appears that the fees amongst the Public 
Offices on the Bounties paid for captured Africans amounts to 51. 2s. 6d. per cent., 
exclusive of a Treasury fee of 1/. Is. on all sums above 20/. and not exceeding 
50/., and on all sums above 50/. a fee of 31. 13s. 6d. ; and as 1,050,000/. has been 
paid for this purpose, these fees have consequently been 60,000/., exclusive of the 
Treasury fee just stated, at least 2,500/. more ! ! 



xlii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



For all the preceding enormous sums, we have on 
the one hand got Sierra Leone and the Gambia, the 
former place with 36,000 liberated Africans congre- 
gated there, and exactly for what these places may 
be accounted worth ; on the other hand, we have 
relinquished more than one settlement on the coast of 
Guinea, while the remainder, including Cape Coast, 
influence nothing and command nothing in Africa, 
beyond the range of the few guns and trifling garri- 
sons which are placed in them. 

The whole of our present trade to the west coast of 
Africa, from Mogadore to the Orange River, is, as a 
whole, miserable ; and still more miserable, when it is 
considered that the greater portion thereof is made 
up, as regards imports into Africa, of articles exclu- 
sively appropriated to the slave trade ; and as regards 
the exports of articles, almost wholly produced by the 
slave labour in the native states. The following, 
from Porter's Tables, is the amount for 1834 : — 



Exports to Africa. 



Gambia, 


Cape Apollonia, 


Cape Mesurado 


Sierra Leone, 


Cape Coast, 


and to Cape 


and to 


and to 


Apollonia. 


Cape Mesurado. 


Rio Volta. 


£ 


£ 


£ 


British and Irish articles, 1834 97,425 


33,051 


736 


Foreign and Colonial, ditto . 86,431 


107,627 


3,657 


Totals . £183,855 


140,678 


4,393 



The imports into Sierra Leone, from all parts, were 
for the same year 126,214/. 

Of which there were, particularly slave trade articles, 
thus :— 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xliii 



£ 

Guns, 20,355, value 10,981 

Gunpowder, 587,950 lbs 11,946 

India piece goods 18,266 

Iron bars, bolt and cast iron, 1,102,690 lbs. . 2,974 

Hardware and cutlery .*....... 6,607 

Brandy and Geneva, 10,932 gallons .... 1,496 

Rum, 63,360 ditto 5,149 

Tobacco, 332,750 lbs 6,628 

£64,047 

leaving only as legitimate trade 62,167/., and of 
which sum 32,000/. were directly and exclusively 
imported, for the support and maintenance of the 
liberated Africans in that place \ and for the use and 
consumption of the balance, by the civil and military 
establishments in the place, the commissariat accounts 
in the preceding pages will sufficiently account. 

The exports from Sierra Leone for that year, to all 
parts, were (Porter's Tables, Supplement, No. 5,) 
65,558/., and in 1835 there were 140,006/. Thus :— 

£ 

Great Britain 84,281 

All other Foreign Countries 20,779 

Other parts of the Coast of Africa 35,046 

£140,106 

Included in these exports are the following ; viz. — ■ 

Timber, value 35,863 

Ivory 4,936 

Palm Oil 14,268 

£55,067 

which, besides other articles, are entirely produced by 
the labour of the slaves to the native chiefs beyond 
the bounds of the colony, viz., Timanees, Bulloms, 



xliv IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 

Mandingoes, and Sherbros. Such is the state of this, 
the chief British African Colony, after fifty years' fos- 
tering, and in which labour for nine hours daily can, 
it is stated, be had for 3^d. and \d. sterling per day, 
and yet it is at this moment consuming the slave-raised 
sugar of Cuba and the Brazils, refined in England, 
and next exported to Sierra Leone, and. our other 
transmarine possessions ! 

One-third of the exports to the coast of Africa, are in 
fact, arms and ammunition. In 1834 these amounted 
to 91,407/. It is true that the articles themselves are, 
owing to the considerate care of certain humane indi- 
viduals in this country, procured of that description, 
which, before shipping, are ascertained to be such as 
will do harm to no one (see Mr. Buxton's Memorial 
to Government, p. 118.) But this is only a one-sided 
view of the matter, because it is obvious that the 
African nation which, armed with these do-no-harm 
weapons, meets in battle another nation which is 
armed with similar weapons of a serviceable nature, 
must either be killed, or caught and sold for slaves. 
This result is inevitable. The value of arms and 
ammunition exported from Great Britain in 1835 
was 405,573/. to all parts of the world, of which, 
directly or circuitously, 130,161/. went to Africa. 

Further, as regards this African coast trade, it is 
most fatal to the lives of seamen engaged in it. It 
has been calculated that every ten logs of African 
timber imported from the African continental ports 
into this country costs one seaman's life. In the 
naval and commercial marine, the annual loss of 
seamen probably exceeds that sustained by the British 
navy in some years in battle, during the war. Re- 
maining so long in the pestilential mouths of the 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xlv 



rivers, around which scarcely poisonous reptiles and 
only venemous musquitoes can live, as merchants' 
ships do, and which, from the nature of the African 
trade as it is at present conducted, they must do, ren- 
ders such results inevitable. 

These facts are stated, not in the spirit of finding 
fault with any one, or of attaching blame to any 
quarter. They are stated merely to show the whole 
truth, and to prove that the course which Great 
Britain has hitherto pursued in this matter has been 
wrong, and that another and a wiser course must, and 
with energy and decision, be adopted. They are 
stated to show that all our exertions in the cause of 
Africa have in reality terminated in extending the mise- 
ries of that continent ; tended to retain, if not to plunge 
her into a state of greater barbarism ; have, in short, 
tended to enrich foreign nations, and to impoverish 
and to weaken our own. This is a sad state of things ; 
a deplorable, but a correct picture ; a picture, my 
Lord, at the sight of which humanity must mourn, 
and British statesmen ought to weep. 

Why is it so ? Why, but because Great Britain has 
shut her eyes to the fact, and her ears to the truth — 
because she has attempted to do that which is imprac- 
ticable, and because she has taken the wrong road to 
accomplish her object — because she puts the cause for 
the effect, and the effect for the cause, and proceeds 
upon and acts upon this erroneous principle. 

The African slave trade is not the cause of African 
ignorance and barbarity, but the consequence thereof. 
The latter produces the former ; and when we per- 
ceive this, when we balieve this, then, but not till 
then, can we get into the right path to do good to 
Africa, and through her to ourselves. Slavery and a 



xlvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



slave trade existed in Africa 3,000 years ago, and lias 
continued to exist, and was in full strength when 
Europeans first came in contact with her western 
shores. The whole European foreign slave trade, 
great as it is, is but as " a grain in the balance, and a 
drop in the bucket," when compared to the slave 
trade which from place to place exists in Africa, and 
for Africa herself ; and which drags the unfortunate 
negro in chains, according as the current of the 
demand sets from the sources of the Joliba to the 
springs of the Bahr el Azreek — from the shores of 
Benin to the shores of the Mediterranean, or into the 
oases in the Great Desert. These truths are evident 
and incontrovertible. It is idle to maintain that a few 
ships from European or American powers, frequenting 
only the mouths of rivers flowing in the wide ex- 
tended continent of Africa, create, or influence, com- 
paratively speaking, and to any great degree, the 
proceedings of the powers and the millions in the 
interior, as regards the slave trade ; which powers, 
moreover, probably never heard of the name of an 
European, or that such quarters of the world as 
Europe and America exist ; and into which interior 
parts of Africa, moreover, no white man can pene- 
trate without the utmost danger. The European 
slave trade certainly tends to extend the traffic, but it 
does not create it ; nor will its cessation stop a slave 
trade in Africa, nor even, if utterly abandoned, dry 
up more than one tear of the millions which flow daily 
from the eyes of unhappy Africa. Thousands on 
thousands are daily reduced to a state of slavery, and 
carried from market to market, over all the continent 
of Africa ; and millions are still slaves, yea, slaves to 
slaves in Africa. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xlvii 



Let us look at the matter in this its true light, 
and then all we do will be gone about correctly, 
take effect in Africa, and be listened to and obeyed 
by Africa. The miseries and the wrongs of Africa 
are, strictly speaking, almost wholly her own, and the 
means of removing them are chiefly in her own hands. 
The work of regeneration must principally proceed 
from her own exertions, otherwise it never can be 
permanent. To heal up an ulcer is not to cure it* 
A quack can do the former, but a skilful surgeon will 
only perform the latter. But to effect a cure the latter 
must know the cause of the disorder which afflicts his 
patient. So it is with regard to Africa. We must 
know her disease, and the causes which produce it, 
otherwise we never can administer either proper or 
effectual remedies to bring about a radical cure. All 
our medicines and prescriptions hitherto administered 
have failed. It is in vain to deny, or attempt to 
conceal the fact. This proves them to have been 
wrong, and not applicable to the disease which they 
were administered to remove. Our efforts of thirty 
years' duration to put down the African slave trade 
have not only failed, totally and signally failed, 
but these have tended to aggravate and to increase in 
every way the mighty and destructive evil. 

Why, it is again observed, are these things here 
brought forward and stated ? Why, but that the truth, 
and the whole truth, should be made known. Errors 
are pointed out, that errors may in future be avoided. 
Truth is made known, that the right path may in 
future be chosen to effect the mighty and important 
object. Great Britain expends 600,000/. yearly, in 
one way or another, to stop the African slave trade. 
So long as she does so, will you ever get, or can you 



xlviii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



ever expect to get, any one engaged in receiving any 
portion of this sum to say that the system which is 
pursued is wrong ? Nay, is it not more probable that 
the interest of such parties will bring them to mislead, 
in order that the errors and the profits may be con- 
tinued ? 

What Africa wants is European intelligence, Eu- 
ropean capital, and European industry to direct and 
aid her. She must do the rest herself, and would, 
I think, do it, if the former were honestly and judici- 
ously bestowed and applied. If she refuses to do this, 
no human power can extricate her from her present 
state of ignorance, misery and degradation. While she 
bends her knees in adoration to sharks and snakes, 
and to the horrid fetish-trees, she will continue to 
bend her neck to chains and slavery, foreign and 
domestic ; and while she refuses to labour and culti- 
vate her soil, she disobeys the commands of Omnipo- 
tence, rebels against his high and his irreversible 
decree, " in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread 
which decree, be it observed, by toil and labour merci- 
fully punished man for his transgression, and was insti- 
tuted to keep him from idleness, which, indulged in, 
would inevitably lead him to transgress. Africa may 
revolt against this decree, and struggle to escape from 
it, but she cannot. She cannot be exempted therefrom. 
She may, however, by her conduct exempt herself ; but 
if she does so, then she must pay, as she does pay, the 
penalty ; she must feel, as she does feel, the bitter con- 
sequences, idleness and a slave trade and slavery. 
While Africa acts such a part as she has always acted, 
she and her population will never be out of mischief, 
nor ever raise their heads amongst the civilized nations 
of the world. 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xlix 



If one-half less was said and written about African 
slavery and the African slave trade than is said and 
written, and in place thereof, if one-half more were 
judiciously done than is done to remove them, there 
would be greater hopes of ultimate success in removing 
the one and in ameliorating the other. But there the 
mighty evils are — there in Africa they are planted 
and grow, and stand in all their strength ; and the 
question is, how are they either first to be lessened, 
and secondly, ultimately removed, and the passions 
of Africa, and her manners and her pursuits, directed 
from mischievous to useful purposes. Railing at these, 
or their enormous evils or disastrous consequences, 
will not accomplish the work. Slow, sure* and judi- 
cious proceedings alone can bring and teach the power 
and authority which exist in Africa to turn the exer- 
cise of that power and authority to useful, honourable, 
and honest pursuits. Slavery and a slave trade forms 
the general law of Africa. These two evils reign 
acknowledged, sanctioned, known, recognised, and 
submitted to by all her population, of every rank and 
degree, throughout all her extended borders. Every 
offence and every crime, real or imaginary, in Africa, 
whether committed against individuals or states, merges 
into slavery. All this is very mischievous and very 
destructive to the peace and true interests of Africa, 
but the question still remains, how are we to convince 
the whole African population, 150*000,000 of people, 
of this fact, for it is the fact ; and without convincing 
them that they are wrong, that they are acting con- 
trary to their own interests, we never can succeed in 
getting them to depart from those errors and that 
course which has been undeviatingly pursued ever 
since population was found in Africa. The only safe 



i 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



and rational course is, to teach her industry, to set 
her a good example in all things — that example which 
Christianity teaches us to set — accompanied by that 
forbearance which Christianity teaches and commands 
us to show ; and, above all, to teach her that selling 
her people will never make her rich, or better, or 
wiser, but that to draw them and to teach them to culti- 
vate the ground, and exchange the productions thereof 
for whatever they want, infallibly will. Do this, but do 
it seriously, strenuously, and judiciously, and the end 
will, it is conceived, be accomplished. But if Africa 
continues obstinate — if she turns a deaf ear to such 
counsels and such an example, then Africa must and 
will remain always as much lost as she now is to her- 
self, to Europe, and to the world. 

Agriculture alone is the true and stable foundation 
of society and civilization. Commerce must follow 
agriculture in every country. It is by her agriculture 
alone, the cultivation of her soil, that Africa can be re- 
generated, or produce that permanent and useful com- 
merce which will tend to extend her knowledge, tend 
to make her and her people independent members of 
the general human society, and remove the present 
bitter evils that afflict her. Her present commerce 
and system of commerce, will not only never accom- 
plish this desirable object, but, on the contrary, it 
leads, and will lead, to extend the present evils which 
afflict her. Her present trade is, in fact, carried on 
by the medium of the spontaneous productions of 
nature. Few, if any, of the articles which she ex- 
changes with other countries for the rude and limited 
supplies which she seeks, are the production of human 
capital, labour, or industry. So long as this continues 
to be the case, so long will African commerce tend to 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



li 



perpetuate that idleness and want of industry which 
universally prevails in Africa ; and so long as this is 
continued, will idleness and insecurity, with their 
necessary consequences — violence, slavery internally, 
and a slave trade externally — be continued ; so long will 
the unfortunate Africans, her princes and her people, 
continue to have no idea of the value of time : yet, 
until they are taught this important lesson — that time, 
honestly and continuously occupied, is the greatest of 
all treasure ; until they understand this, and act 
accordingly ; all efforts to bring about any permanent 
advantage to Africa will be fruitless and unavailing. 
It is melancholy to reflect upon the picture which 
every traveller in Africa presents to us under this 
head. Take one out of millions. De Caille met 
a man at Douasso, on the banks of the Kowara Ba, 
a native of Kong, who had been thence to Jinne, 
carrying a basket of colat nuts on his head, to be sold 
at the latter place, and who, when he saw him, was 
returning with the small stock of merchandise which 
he had obtained in exchange, viz. a little salt, and a 
piece of cloth — the remnants, in fact, which he had 
saved from the several dues which he had paid to the 
petty chiefs. The journey altogether would occupy him 
six months ! What a waste of time and labour ! 
Under such a state of things can Africa ever get 
better ? Can she ever get rich, independent, or free ? 
Never ! ! 

An intelligent trader to the east coast of Africa 
(Captain Cook), has brought before us, in a very 
short space, the cause of the foreign slave trade, and 
of African misery and degradation. When at Zanze- 
bar lately, and remonstrating with the people there, 
in their slave market, for continuing such a disgraceful 

e 2. 



lii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



practice, and advising them to betake themselves to 
some traffic more honourable and more profitable, com- 
mercial, or agricultural ; " Which is that ?" said they. 
Several things were pointed out, and looking to some 
ivory then in the market, he observed, <£ We will buy 
and pay you for that in preference to buying men." 
The reply was laconic and characteristic : <f It is 
easier to catch a man than an elephant!" It is easier, 
also, or rather more agreeable, according to the same 
mode of judging, to catch an elephant, than to labour 
continuously during six days in the week in culti- 
vating the ground. The short reply above stated, 
conveys, in clear words, the whole and the real cause 
of African misery and degradation, and of the African 
slave trade. If millions in Europe were to sit down 
and write volumes on these subjects, they could not 
make the point so clear or so plain as these ten words, 
" It is easier to catch a man than an elephant," make it. 

Why is Africa poor, miserable, and degraded? 
Because she is idle and disinclined to regular 
and steady industry, especially agricultural industry. 
De Caille tells us, that at Sambatiklia the people 
would rather pine amidst famine than cultivate the 
ground ; and that, when urged to labour and to culti- 
vate, the reply was, that it would take off their atten- 
tion from studying the Koran! Lander tells us, 
(vol. ii. p. 133,) as regards the people on the banks 
of the Coodonia, " the male population of the com- 
munity seemed to have no employment or occupation 
whatever, spending the whole of their time in lounging 
and loitering about their native villages, whilst the 
women, more laudably employed, are engaged in ex- 
tracting oil from a small black seed, and from the 
Guinea nut." Thus we see the true cause why Africa 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



liii 



is wretched, why her population are mischievous, 
ignorant, and degraded ; because, in fact, more than 
one-half of them are idle as regards any laudable and 
continuous object, and the remainder have not the 
slightest idea of the value of time. 

Thus stands the matter as regards Africa herself. 
Next, how stands the matter as regards this country, 
and as connected with her greatest interests ? We 
have shortly adverted to what has been done, and also 
to that which has been left undone ; we have shown 
that as much money has been expended, (to say nothing 
of valuable lives,) as could, interest included, have pur- 
chased and enfranchised almost all the slaves in Africa. 
We have considered our present position as regards 
this great question. We have failed, most signally 
and completely, after spending so much treasure. 
What, then, is next to be done ? Great Britain can- 
not stand still in this matter ; she cannot act so, and 
make herself the object of derision to the whole world. 
She must go on ; she must put down the African 
foreign slave trade, or it will put down England ; that 
is, reduce her to the rank of a secondary power ; it 
will, and speedily, too, crush and destroy all her great 
colonial interests on which she has lately expended 
20,000,000/. of money, and which colonial interests, 
during her late awful struggle, afforded those supplies 
to her marine and those resources to her finances, 
which enabled her to triumph over all her enemies, 
over the world combined against her. 

Slowly, but securely and strongly, are the conse- 
quences of the continued and immense extension of 
the African slave trade, by the increase of agriculture 
and commerce in different quarters of the world, 
raising up into importance numerous new and great 



liv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



commercial interests, and consequently proportionate 
political power and influence in these different quarters ; 
thereby undermining the once predominant and most 
powerful interests of Great Britain ; changing rapidly 
the political interest and power of the whole of the 
greatest nations of the civilized world ; and, at the 
same time, rendering each of these daily greater and 
more powerful than they previously were, while those 
of Great Britain become less. These results are 
obvious to the meanest and most casual observer, and 
will tell, in the event of either partial or general 
future contests between Great Britain and any of 
these powers, with a severe and injurious effect upon 
all her interests and her power, political, commercial, 
agricultural, and social. 

Her object, therefore, so long and so expensively 
sought, she must accomplish. Her government, only 
a few months ago, were compelled publicly to confess, 
that they could not put an end to the slave trade, 
without involving this country in war with other 
countries in Europe. If we go to war for such an 
object, who can tell over what space that war will 
extend, how long it will endure, or how much it 
will cost ; but any one can tell that such a contest 
begun would go to perpetuate, not to stop, the 
African slave trade, while the extent to which that 
trade has been carried on has increased the strength of 
foreign rivals, and paralyzed or weakened our own. 

This country, it is repeated, cannot stand still in 
African matters : it must advance. In order to 
extinguish slavery in one portion of the British 
dominions, 20,000,000/. have been paid, with what 
result time must show ; and, in worse than useless 
efforts to put down the foreign slave trade, even a 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. lv 

greater sum, to say nothing about the thousands of 
valuable lives which have been lost, has been ex- 
pended. Are all these enormous sums to be lost ? for 
wholly lost they will be, if nothing more is done to 
Africa, for Africa, and in Africa. The eves of the 
world are upon Great Britain, as connected with this 
subject, at this moment. What will the people of 
England— what will the whole civilized world say, if 
this country, after her war against slavery and slave- 
produced articles, go to Africa and purchase freely, 
from her chiefs and her people, articles and produce of 
every kind, raised by the degraded slaves of ignorant, 
degraded, and barbarous masters ! This, my Lord, can- 
not be done without a total dereliction of every prin- 
ciple of honour, justice, and truth, on the part of the 
multitudes which have taken an interest in the slave 
question, and also of every principle of municipal 
justice, national honour, and good faith, prudence, and 
policy on the part of the government. You must, 
therefore, proceed to introduce cultivation into Africa 
by free labour, and by that alone ; and unless you do 
introduce cultivation — unless cultivation is introduced 
into Africa, no earthly power can ever introduce civili- 
zation, industry, and knowledge into that country. 

More money, therefore, must be expended for the 
purpose alluded to, but it must be expended with 
energy, and prudence, and economy in all things, and 
not wasted, as it has been, in senseless theories, idle 
undertakings, and ruinous and barefaced jobs, in all 
quarters in Africa, or about Africa, as has hitherto 
been the case. 

The application of external force to crush the slave 
trade has been tried and has failed. External force 
alone will never succeed. To blockade and watch 



Ivi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



all Africa is a vision, and compared to which the 
schemes of the crusaders were wisdom itself. From 
El Arish westward to the Straits of Gibraltar, and 
thence by Cape Verde, the Cape of Good Hope, and 
Cape Guardafui, &c, by the coast of the Red Sea, to 
El Arish again, the coasts of Africa extend 15,000 
geographical miles, including seventy or eighty miles, 
the Egyptian land-boundary, between the Red Sea and 
the Mediterranean. This whole extent of coast, with 
the exception of the space from the Orange River, by 
the Cape of Good Hope, to Delgoa Bay, 1500 miles, 
is either directly engaged in purchasing and exporting 
slaves, or in importing and receiving them. To 
blockade, shut up, or in any material degree to influ- 
ence or to overawe such an extensive line of sea-coast, 
as that just alluded to, is quite impracticable, and 
beyond the power of the united navies of the civilized 
world to effect, even were these cordially to agree 
and to unite in the work. The number of people 
carried away from the interior parts of Africa by the 
Mahommedan nations is, including the mortality on 
the middle voyage, certainly above 120,000 yearly. 
The number carried away by Europeans, or the de- 
scendants of Europeans settled in America, including 
the mortality in the passage, seasoning, &c, cannot be 
less than 250,000 ; of this latter number 220,000 are 
carried away from those parts of the coast which 
extend from the Rio Nunez to Cape Negro, 2800 
miles, and of this latter number, again, 150,000, at 
least, are taken from the country or coast between the 
Rio Volta and the Gaboon. While it is quite impos- 
sible for any European nation to obstruct the traffic 
in every portion of the African coast, it is not im- 
practicable to strike a deadly blow at by far the 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. lvH 

greater portion thereof, namely, that which is carried 
on between the Rio Volta and the Cameroons. 
According* to Sir Robert Mends, the number carried 
away in eighteen months, in the years 1820 and 1821, 
" from the four northernmost rivers in the Bight of 
Biafra," was at least 130,000, in 424 vessels, many of 
them carrying from 500 to 1000 slaves. From Bonny 
River alone, 126, and from Cameroons 177 vessels, 
with full cargoes, say 90,000, sailed in the short 
space of four months ! (Sir Robert Mend's Despatch, 
June 22d, 1822.) The command of the mouths of 
the Niger by a settlement, and authority and influ- 
ence planted and exerted at no great distance into 
the interior, might prevent — might, in a short space, 
extinguish all this ; or, three-fifths of the European and 
American slave trade would, we may say, at once be cut 
off. This is the point at which to aim the hardest and 
most deadly blow at the African slave trade. Extin- 
guished here, as it may be extinguished, by the means 
recommended, and to the extent mentioned, the results 
would soon destroy the remainder of the American 
and European slave trade, by producing, for the wants 
and the demands of the world, produce at a cheaper 
rate than could be produced by any one in any distant 
country, who might be inclined, or attempt to carry 
on the trade ; and simultaneously the same proceed- 
ings would so instruct, influence, and inspirit and 
strengthen the heart of Africa, as to put down, in an 
almost equally short space, even a greater proportion 
of the Mahommedan African slave trade. This is the 
point and object to aim at. These are the means, 
alike simple and profitable, required to accomplish the 
object. From or by our present miserable and ill- 
chosen settlements on the western coast of Africa, 



Iviii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



conducted and regulated as these have hitherto been, 
nothing ever can be accomplished, as nothing ever 
has been accomplished worthy of notice ; nor can any 
human power render these settlements, in any ma- 
terial degree, however judiciously that power may be 
exerted in future, instrumental in arresting the pro- 
gress of the African slave trade, or of spreading know- 
ledge, industry, and civilization, and peace in Africa. 

Admitting for the moment, and for the sake of 
argument, that Europe or Great Britain could extin- 
guish by force the slave trade carried on by sea under 
the flags of white people, how little will this do for 
the relief of Africa herself. The Portuguese are 
already exerting themselves, by means of extending 
cultivation in their African colonies, to raise them to 
wealth and prosperity, and they will succeed, and 
succeed, too, by extending a slave trade for the pur- 
chase of slaves in Africa. They have unlimited soil for 
cultivation in Africa, and they may be said to have 
an unlimited supply of labour at command. Great 
Britain cannot interfere to prevent this. Besides, will 
not the Brazils and other countries, admitting they 
agree to put down the open and bona fide African 
slave trade, resort to the means of carrying away 
from Africa (as some of them are, I hear, now doing, 
or about to do) labourers, under the name of free 
labourers ? Can England prevent this ? No ! More- 
over, were the slave trade, which is at present carried 
on under the flags of civilized nations, wholly extin- 
guished, what is to hinder any African chief to hoist 
his flag and carry it on ? Nothing, but the want of 
means, and these means could, in fifty different ways, 
be furnished him by parties interested. By the general 
law of nations, also, it is not in our power to prevent 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lix 



this, contrary to the wish and the inclination of such 
African powers. 

That such as are here contemplated may be the 
results — nay, that such, under the view in which the 
subject has just been considered, will be the results, 
under the circumstances supposed, is undeniable. It 
is therefore of the utmost importance, especially at 
this moment, to consider the probable results, and 
adopt such a rational and reasonable course of pro- 
ceeding as may prevent such from taking- place. Why 
are things, as regards Africa and our tropical colonies, 
brought to their present threatening and deplorable 
state ? Why ? but because this country, in her people 
and her national councils, have never thought about 
nor looked at results, It is now a very questionable 
point, whether or not the fatal errors, which have 
been committed in all these matters, can be retrieved ; 
and if they cannot be retrieved, it is plain that a 
deadly blow has been struck at the greatest and the 
most vital interests of the British empire. 

Africa is capable of producing, and in perfection, 
every article of tropical produce that any other quarter 
of the world, situated within the tropics, can produce, 
besides some of superior descriptions, which are pecu- 
liar to herself. Her dyes in particular, are found to 
resist both acids and light, properties which no other 
dyes, that we know of, possess. Throughout all her 
central and mountainous districts, from the Atlantic 
to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, mines of gold, 
silver, copper, and iron, are found in abundance, of 
superior quality and fineness. Sugar, coffee, cotton, 
cocoa, Indian corn, tropical fruits of every description, 
and timber of various kinds, superior in quality, 
whether intended for ornamental or useful purposes, 



Ix 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



are or can be produced in almost every quarter, and 
in any quantity. The population in all these places, 
though very barbarous, are yet not savages, but on 
the contrary, many of them are some steps advanced 
in the road to civilization, and to a better order of 
things. The distance from Europe to all her tropical 
western shores, is even less than to some of the tropical 
shores of America, and a great deal nearer than the 
coasts of tropical Asia ; while her noble rivers, espe- 
cially that sovereign of the whole — the Niger, opens up 
by itself, or its greater tributary streams, a navigation 
through the whole of the central portion of that great 
continent, from the sources of the Rokelle and the 
Rio Grande, &c., in 10° W. long., to the sources of 
the western branch of the Egyptian Nile, the Bahr el 
Abiad in 22° E. long.,- — a distance from east to west 
of nearly 2,000 geographical miles ! Why, then, should 
such a country remain almost unknown to, and wholly 
neglected by Europe, and more especially by England ? 
She can easily, and at all times with her naval power, 
reach the confluence of the Niger and the Shadda. 
There let her plant her banners and her power, the 
future capital of Africa, which will be commanded by 
no power, but which will command the two great — the 
greatest arteries of tropical Africa — and, with these, 
northern tropical Africa. 

The reason why the junction of the Shadda and the 
Niger is chosen in preference, is obvious. This po- 
sition will command both rivers, and consequently give 
the opportunity of obtaining assistance and supplies 
by means of one, should those from the other at any 
time be, from any unforeseen or unfortunate cause, cut 
off or obstructed. It would also enable the place to 
obtain supplies from above, should it at any time be 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixi 



cut off from these by occurrences below the Kong 
mountains. This, however, is not very likely to 
occur, as the naval power of Great Britain is suffi- 
ciently strong, by the aid of steam, to clear the river 
from the sea. It would, moreover, be healthier than 
to the southward of the gorge of the Kong chain, as 
there the alluvial country begins, and the miasma from 
the delta is blown by the south-west winds right upon 
it ; while, if established at the river or in it, as at 
Beaufort Island, as has been stated is at present in- 
tended,* the settlement would, in the first place, be 
commanded by the adjoining hills and heights, which 
rise here like walls on either side of the river, to the 
height of 2,500 to 3,000 feet, and hardly more than 
that distance apart. Thus situated, the place would, 
during the rainy season, be subjected to sudden, 
fearful, and incessant deluges of rain, from the con- 
densation of the clouds upon the mountains, and there, 
as well as in the dry season, the heat during the day 
would be almost unbearable and suffocating ; while the 
chill from the river, particularly in the night, would 
be so keen and severe, and the transitions in both 
cases would be so rapid and great, that no European, 
nor indeed any constitution, but more especially the 
former, could endure the changes. The mortality 
would, in consequence, be fearful and fatal, and utterly 
ruinous to the stability of the undertaking. From all 
these, any settlement placed at the junction of the 
rivers would be comparatively free. It is scarcely 
possible that greater want of correct knowledge 

* I have looked in vain into Laird's, Lander's, and Oldfleld's 
Travels, and Beecroft's Survey, for an account of this island, but I can 
find none. Mr. Oldfield assures me that he never either saw or heard 
of it. Beecroft places an insular rock near the S.E. side of the river. 



fedi IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 

about a tropical climate, or the proper place to 
choose in Africa to establish ourselves therein, could 
be displayed ; or an error more fatal to every object 
which is held in view, adopted, than in choosing 
Beaufort Island, or any other similar position there- 
abouts. A settlement further down on the banks of 
the river below the hills, and near or at the branching" 
off of the rivers, would, with all the disadvantages and 
dangers above-mentioned, still be preferable to that 
alluded to, and at the same time be more commanding, 
and even more healthy, than the other. 

Without drying up the sources of supply to the 
slave trade in the interior, we may as well try to dam 
up the Niger itself, as to cut off a foreign slave trade 
with Africa, and an extensive slave trade in Africa 
itself. To effect this, the interior, at a point which 
will prove the most commanding, must be gained. To 
work in detached, and as far as health is concerned, 
in destructive and ill-chosen positions on the coast, as 
has hitherto been done, or in any position near the 
coast, however well chosen, without doing more, is to 
continue the present erroneous system, and to effect 
nothing whatever for the relief of Africa. The pos- 
session of the Island of Fernando Po is valuable, but 
it is only valuable as it is considered, and made the 
means to accomplish an end. Possession of it by Great 
Britain would prevent any mischievous foreign power, 
if planted in it, from thwarting our views in the in- 
terior ; or, in the event of hostilities with that power, 
from any force belonging to it shutting up all the 
mouths of the Niger on the adjoining coast. The 
possession of Fernando Po is, moreover, only valu- 
able more or less, according as it commands, or can 
command, any of the greatest and easiest navigable 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixiii 



branches of the Niger, but which there is too much 
reason to believe that it cannot do. The Nun, cer- 
tainly, is not a good navigable branch, and it is 
as yet doubtful if either the Bonny branch, or the 
connecting streams of the Old Calabar river with 
the Niger, are navigable for vessels of a size which 
could only be profitably employed in a produce trade 
with the interior. This island, or in fact any other 
island in that quarter, such as Prince's Island and St. 
Thomas's, would be of no essential service for the great 
ulterior object in view, except so far as has been stated 
regarding the former. The two latter can be of no 
service whatever. They are, moreover, most unhealthy 
places, as bad as either Sierra Leone or the Nun, (to 
be worse is impossible,) and, consequently, they would 
not only become graves to British settlers, who might 
be induced or be commanded to go there ; but also 
fathomless gulfs for British treasure, — fields for ex- 
pensive and useless jobs, of which there has, unfortu- 
nately both for Africa and for Great Britain, already 
been too many. 

The object for which the interior of Africa is at 
present sought, moreover, goes surely much beyond a 
mere voyage of discovery. The Niger is known to be 
navigable and to be navigated by canoes and vessels of 
considerable burthen from Courouassa to the Atlantic. 
The Shadda, too, is probably navigable for vessels of 
the same description for 600 miles. Voyages of dis- 
covery alone will not civilize, nor cultivate, nor plant 
industry in Africa. Sufficient also is already known 
regarding Africa, and the way to reach her most in- 
teresting interior parts, to enable Great Britain to fix 
upon the most eligible points for putting into opera- 
tion agricultural labour, without which Africa must 



Ixiv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



remain as Africa has ever been. A voyage of dis- 
covery, if successful, may and can only gratify the 
curious ; but it can render no permanent seryice to 
Africa, or the great commercial interests of England, 
as connected with that continent ; whereas, agricul- 
tural establishments and instructions can and will per- 
manently improve Africa, and lay, at the same time, 
and nothing else can lay, the foundation for a most 
extensive and lasting commercial intercourse, which 
cannot fail to prove eminently advantageous to the 
world in general, and to Great Britain in particular. 

The real wealth of every country consists in the 
productions of the soil raised by the labour of the 
people. In this respect, what a sad contrast does 
Africa afford, when compared to every other quarter 
of the world! With 150,000,000 of people, her 
whole exports to every other part of the globe do not 
exceed in value the exports of Cuba, with only about 
1,200,000 inhabitants! 

Great Britain has done much, and accomplished 
nothing, for Africa. She must do a great deal more, 
and do what is done more judiciously, or she must 
relinquish the object altogether, and leave Africa to 
her fate. The measures to be taken must be prompt, 
prudent, and energetic. Great Britain must do some- 
thing great, — like herself and worthy of herself, if she 
wishes, as she surely must wish, that success should 
attend her operations. She must no longer go on with 
worse than half measures, in spending money in the 
manner that she has done. Such a course must fearfully 
add to and increase every expenditure, and yet never 
accomplish anything. What is expended merely in the 
preparations for a war threatened to suppress the slave 
trade, if judiciously applied, would plant knowledge, and 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixv 



industry, and cultivation, and civilization, in Africa, so 
widely and so firmly, that nothing- could shake or 
eradicate them for the future. 

The way to accomplish all this, and there is only 
one way to accomplish it, is simple and easy. It will 
cost but little ; will speedily in its results repay the 
first outlay, and will involve the country in no hostile 
disputes, but, on the contrary, tend to deliver Great 
Britain and other nations from the disagreeable 
and dangerous dilemma in which they are all placed. 
The way is this : get Africa and Africans to cultivate 
their own soil, and sell the produce thereof in order to 
exchange that produce for their wants, instead of 
selling each other to cultivate foreign countries, in 
order to supply their (Africans) limited and their 
miserable wants. 

When agriculture is stated to be the true and only 
means of African improvement and civilization, it is 
not supposed that agricultural operations are to be 
confined to produce merely those articles which are 
fit for exportation to other countries in other climates. 
It is not and ought not to be confined to these, but to 
be extended also to the production in one portion of 
Africa, of such articles as another portion of Africa 
requires and cannot produce ; by which means, while 
the operations of agriculture are extended in Africa, 
civilization, knowledge, industry, and commerce, would 
also all be extended and consolidated. 

This and this only will terminate the African slave 
trade, inland and foreign. Is it not plain that the 
cheap labour which may be procured in Africa, applied 
to a soil equally productive as that of any other coun- 
try, will beat, in every market in the world, the 
produce raised in other countries at a prodigiously 

/ 



Ixvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



higher rate? The slave in Africa, that is, an effective 
and seasoned labourer, costs on the coast five pounds, 
and in the interior twenty-five shillings. It is fair 
to presume that the price of the daily labour of the 
free labourer would be in the same ratio. The sea- 
soned slave or labourer in Cuba or the Brazils, costs, 
(that is, taking into account the value of the number 
lost, until they become naturalized,) 120/. sterling. 
What chance, let me ask, could the cultivator in the 
latter places have with the cultivator in Africa, where 
the proportion of capital invested for labour paid, in 
order to produce exportable articles, is more in pro- 
portion than twenty to one ! The cultivator in Cuba 
and Brazils, therefore, it is plain, could never meet 
the judicious and industrious African cultivator in any 
market in the world ; and if the former found that he 
could not beat the latter in the market of the world, 
he would, from that moment, never bring or seek to 
bring another slave from the coast of Africa to Cuba, 
or to any other country out of Africa. 

It has been shown, that there are on the one hand, 
600,000 reasons yearly — sovereign reasons — chances 
against us, why the African slave trade is not to be 
discontinued ; and there are, on the other hand, seventy 
times the above number of reasons, namely, the pro- 
ductions of the soil, and exports and imports of 
Brazils, Cuba, and Porto Rico alone, 50,000,000/. 
yearly, and the great gains arising from which, and 
the great interests connected therewith, which impel 
and induce both individuals and nations to continue the 
traffic. This is obvious to the most superficial ob- 
server. Try, then, the never-failing remedy, gain and 
interest, to accomplish the great object. Show and 
teach the nations of Europe, and other quarters of the 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixvii 



world, that it is equally their interest, as it is the interest 
of Africa herself, to discontinue this traffic ; that 201. 
capital expended in African agriculture, will produce 
as much, as great a return, if not a greater, than 1 201. 
expended in American agriculture. Try this plan- 
in short, pitch the interests, the heads, and the pockets 
of the pounds shillings and pence gentlemen in the 
world, against each other, and rest assured, when this 
is done, that Africa will triumph over all her compe- 
titors. Such men, and such men only, will moreover 
pay Africans for civilizing, and enlightening, and 
regenerating Africa and themselves, and at the same 
time make great gain by the transaction ; and for the 
same reasons bring every African to lend his cordial 
assistance in order to accomplish the work. 

This is the plain common-sense view of the subject, 
and common-sense pounds shillings and pence ; judg- 
ment, not feeling, must at last be called in to deter- 
mine this question, and can only determine it. What, 
let me ask, would have been the difference to Africa, 
and to Great Britain, if all that enormous value of 
imports into this country and others from Cuba, 
Porto Rico, the Brazils, and the United States, pro- 
duced by the labour of slaves in these places, had been 
raised by British capital in Africa ? A corresponding 
quantity of exports from Great Britain to Africa, that 
is, above 40,000,000/. yearly, would have been one 
result, instead of the miserable traffic which this coun- 
try now carries on with the west coast of Africa, 
312,000/. per annum, above one-fourth of which, 
moreover, is made up of articles (gunpowder and fire- 
arms) by which the slave trade is chiefly carried on. 
Another result would have been, that Africa to her 
deepest recesses would have been explored ; that cul- 

/2 



lxviii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



tivation, and knowledge, and industry, and true re- 
ligion, would have been by this time widely spread in 
Africa; and a city, much greater than New Orleans, 
have been placed at the junction of the Niger and 
Shadda. By the measures which could have effected 
this, Africa would have been enfranchised, and the 
British West Indian colonies at the same time both 
enfranchised and saved. Is it not mournful to think 
that less than one half the number of people which, 
according to Mr. Buxton, have perished in the pas- 
sage across the Atlantic, or died after introduction to 
countries not their own, would have produced, had 
they been retained and employed in the cultivation of 
cotton in Africa, more, much more of that article, 
than Great Britain receives from the United States, or 
1,300,000 bales yearly? 

But it will be said, all this production depends upon 
obtaining voluntary labour in Africa. True, it does. 
But judiciously and prudently gone about, it is be- 
lieved that such labour could gradually, to a greater 
extent, and from the outset, to a sufficient and to a 
remunerating extent, be procured for this purpose in 
Africa. But if Africa will not give that labour at a 
fair and reasonable rate, then the fault lies with 
Africa, and she only is to blame for her continued 
miseries and misfortunes, for continued they will be, 
and aggravated instead of being decreased, unless her 
views and conduct are changed. If she will not labour 
like enlightened nations, why then she must remain 
wretched and degraded ; slavery and a slave trade 
will continue to be followed and pursued in her, and 
by her ; and under such circumstances, she will and 
must be left to her fate. 

Europeans, it is repeated, did not create the slave 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFKICA. 



Ixix 



trade of Africa — they found it there, and used it, as 
they conceived, for their own advantage. The trade 
is purely of African origin,, and proceeds from the 
views, and interests, and corruptions of Africa herself. 
Hence I conceive the hope that European knowledge, 
and friendship, and power, and authority, (the two 
latter exerted as may be necessary,) could do much 
good in Africa, would be welcomed in Africa, and 
listened to in Africa ; whereas, had Europeans been, 
through the slave trade, the sole cause of African 
misery, contrary to the feelings, and interests, and 
power of Africa herself, the former would never have 
been permitted, and could not have been expected to 
have been permitted, to enter Africa at all. 

Africa, throughout all her borders, but especially 
near the delta of the Niger, produces cotton in abund- 
ance, and of the finest quality. It is the lightest of 
all kinds of cultivation, affords the speediest return, 
and requires less capital to carry it on, than almost any 
other tropical produce. It is consequently the most 
proper description of produce with which to com- 
mence cultivation in Africa, and it is hardly necessary 
to point out the advantages which would arise to this 
country from such a course. The imports of cotton 
wool into Great Britain, from the United States, in 
1838, were 444,000,000 lbs., for which this country 
must have paid at least 16,000,000/. While our 
manufacturers are thus almost wholly dependent on 
these states for a supply of the raw material for the 
greatest and most extensive of all the branches of our 
manufactures, the country and the bank of England is 
exposed to the danger of being, at the pleasure of 
these states, stripped of gold, from the immense com- 
mand of the money market which such a value in 



Ixx 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



cotton gives to these states ; and, at the same time, 
while our manufacturers are deeply injured and re- 
stricted in their operations, by cotton monopolies got 
up in America, British pockets are every two or three 
years subjected to be lightened to, it may be said, 
the extent of millions, from the same cause. This is 
a state of things which ought, not to be suffered to 
exist, and which this great country ought not to 
endure. 

The discovery of a water communication between 
the Gulf of Guinea and the most populous, fertile, 
and civilized (if we may use the term) portions of 
central Africa, is of great importance to the world, 
and more especially to Africa itself. Without such a 
communication, by which European knowledge and 
industry could come into immediate contact with 
African ignorance and superstition, and barbarity, and 
indolence, there can be little hope of ever rescuing 
the population of Africa from their present disjointed, 
demoralized, and degraded state. The barbarous 
Moors and Arabs may improve the perfect savage, 
and advance them one step on the road to civilized 
life ; but retrograding as these people are themselves 
very rapidly in Africa, they can teach no people that 
are in any considerable degree emerged from the 
savage state, the path to improvement and prosperity. 
When their power was in its zenith, the result was 
different ; and though they introduced some, and 
continued many evils in Africa, such as a continuation 
of the slave trade and slavery, still they rooted out 
more intolerable evils, such as human sacrifices, and 
the lowest and most degrading kinds of superstition, 
amongst the illiterate and savage Pagans. The coun- 
tries which they had visited, and which they at one 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixxi 



time controlled, and over which they still maintain a 
tottering- sovereignty, are civilized, enlightened, and 
industrious, compared to other portions of Africa, such 
as Ashantee, Dahomey, and the countries to the south 
of the Cameroons river, more especially the parts the 
most remote in the southern interior. In the northern 
parts of central Africa, the elements for a better state 
of things are found abundant ; but the people, ignorant, 
and naturally indolent, are without protection, and 
without any stimulus to industry. Hence vices of 
every kind flourish among them ; hence arise wars 
and violence ; and hence injustice and oppression rule 
Africa, sweep her fields with desolation, bind her un- 
happy children in fetters, and cover her miserable 
population with every sorrow — with "lamentation, 
mourning, and woe." 

To remove all this, and to substitute a better order 
of things, is highly desirable, and a work which every 
man would rejoice to see proceeded in and carried 
into effect. But it is not the work of a day, nor of an 
age. It must be a work of much labour, and of much 
time ; and a work which requires much prudence, and 
much caution to go about. We should remember that 
deep-rooted evils are not to be rooted out in a day, 
amongst an ignorant and extremely barbarous people ; 
and this being the state of things, it is obvious, that 
one precipitate step may drive us back many years 
in our attempts to advance the work of African regene- 
ration and civilization. The Moors and Arabs seek 
slaves only in Soudan, and trade almost entirely for 
them. The princes and sovereigns of these countries 
have as yet no other way to obtain the luxuries, and 
even conveniences of life, (we speak of African luxu- 
ries and conveniences,) but by selling their criminals? 



Ixxii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



enemies, and prisoners of war, to those who will buy 
them, and give in exchange the articles which 
they want. All this, it is admitted, is wrong, and 
contrary to their own interest, which would be greatly 
advanced by pursuing a different line of conduct. But 
the point at issue is, to get them convinced of this fact. 
It is obvious, that the more ignorant and barbarous they 
are, the more difficult it will be to convince them in this 
matter. It may even be easy to persuade them of the 
fact, and to open their eyes for the moment ; but then 
the impression is not lasting, nor will it be lasting, 
till we can bring before their eyes the luxuries they 
want, and show them how they may obtain these, with 
greater profit, in exchange for the produce of the 
ground, than in disposing of the hands which should 
cultivate it. But to accomplish this we must be per- 
manently settled amongst them. r Ihe Arabs are not 
only traders for the sake of slaves almost exclusively, 
but they are, with regard to the commerce of interior 
Africa, jealous, reckless commercial rivals ; and, as 
such, it is natural to expect, they will use all the 
interest they can make, and the influence which they 
possess, over the minds of the African princes, and 
which are undoubtedly great, from the combination 
of ignorance, religion, and prejudice on account of 
religion, to irritate the sovereigns against us. On 
this account, all that should be stated for the present, 
is the anxiety, and the wish entertained by Great Bri- 
tain to open up a commercial communication with 
them, by the nearest and safest road, in order to sup- 
ply their wants. This effected — once planted securely 
amongst them — that communication once fairly opened 
up, then the articles which we brought, and the articles 
which we required, will silence Arab jealousy, beat 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lxxiii 



down Moorish rivalry, and extinguish Mahommedan 
influence ; then we may safely begin to speak to the 
native princes about the errors in their government ; 
then our councils would be listened to with respect, 
and be attended with effect. The prudent silence, and 
the delay of one or two years on some points, may 
accelerate the great and the desirable work of African 
regeneration by a century. 

By proceedings of this kind we can alone hope to 
put an end, a complete end, to the external and internal 
slave trade in Africa, and ultimately to bring about 
the extinction of slavery itself in that vast continent. 
The measures we at present pursue, have failed, and 
will fail in accomplishing our object. A navy stationed 
off the coast of Africa, only lops off the spreading 
shoots of a branch of the tree of African slavery, but 
the tree itself remains far from our reach, carefully pro- 
tected, cultivated, and fostered, by the power, the inter- 
ests, the ignorance, and the barbarity of millions. But 
let us try to get near the trunk, attack the roots, dry up 
its juices and supplies, substitute industry for idleness, 
peace for war, security for insecurity, and we shall 
then quickly strip it naked and bare, and plant in its 
stead trees of a different description. By advice we 
can only accomplish this ; by force, never. Only 
show and convince the African princes, that we will 
give them more for the productions of their soil than 
for the sinews which should cultivate it, and the work is 
done. Nothing else will accomplish the object, or 
vanquish this wide-spread and this deep-rooted evil. 
The external trade thus abolished, personal slavery, 
under enlightened masters and enlightened govern- 
ments, may rapidly raise the ignorant and savage 
inhabitants of Africa, to t^hat knowledge and industry 



lxxiv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



which will fit them to enjoy the blessing of freedom 
and the privileges of freemen. 

To extinguish the slave trade, to teach Africa to 
extinguish it, and to civilize Africa, we might, with 
equal propriety, and with equal effect, have planted 
ourselves at Cape Spartel as at the Gambia and 
Sierra Leone. Will this nation not open her eyes to 
these facts ? Will the fatal experience of forty years 
of delusion and failure, and the waste of millions of 
public money, without accomplishing any one thing 
which we wished to accomplish, not teach us wisdom ? 
Teach us to plant our energies, which we may easily 
do, on a spot in the heart of Africa, where we can 
command the outlets of the Niger f Great Britain 
would then command the trade, the improvement, 
and the civilization of all northern central Africa. 
The heart, as it were, once purified, and filled, and 
invigorated with proper principles and energy, and 
health ; the blood of life would quickly circulate to the 
utmost extremities of the frame, and carry with it and 
diffuse throughout the whole, through every limb, 
health, strength, vigour, true knowledge, industry, 
security and comfort, and peace. 

Colonies, my Lord, more especially tropical colonies, 
ever have been the great source of strength, the sheet 
anchor of Great Britain in the hour of the greatest 
danger. The command of the trade of the tropical 
world gave Great Britain, in fact, the command of 
the trade of the civilized world, and with it the 
supremacy of the world. This our neighbour and 
rival, France, knew, and yet knows, well. This, her 
former imperial master, Bonaparte, and his arch- 
adviser, Talleyrand, understood well. The advice the 
latter, in 1801, gave to his imperious master on these 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixxv 



points is deserving of the most serious consideration. 
No British statesman ought ever to forget it, and 
every British statesman and legislator should have it 
always uppermost in his memory. Let the follow- 
ing extract bear witness to the propriety and necessity 
of this : — 

" Her navy and her commerce are, at present, all her trust. 
France may add Italy and Germany to her dominions with less 
detriment to Britain than will follow the acquisition of a navy and 
the extension of her trade. Whatever gives colonies to France 
supplies her with ships, sailors, manufactures, and husbandmen. 
Victories by land can only give her mutinous subjects, who, instead 
of augmenting the national force by their riches or numbers, con- 
tribute only to disperse and enfeeble that force ; but the growth of 
colonies supplies her with zealous citizens ; and the increase of real 
wealth, and increase of effective numbers, is the certain consequence. 

" What would Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, combining their 
strength, do against England ? They might assemble in millions 
on the shores of the Channel, but there would be the limits of their 
enmity. Without ships to carry them over, without experienced 
mariners to navigate these ships, Britain would only deride the 
pompous preparation. The moment we. leave the shore, her fleets 
are ready to pounce upon us, to disperse and destroy our ineffectual 
armaments. There lies her security ; in her insular situation and 
her navy consists her impregnable defence. Her navy is, in every 
respect, the offspring of her trade. To rob her of that, therefore, 
is to beat down her last wall, and to Jill up her last moat. To gain 
it to ourselves, is to enable us to take advantage of her deserted 
and defenceless borders, and to complete the humiliation of our 
only remaining competitor." 

On the month of June next it will be twenty years 
since I laid before the British Government a large 
map of northern African, showing, from distinct and 
incontrovertible authority, the course of the great 
river Niger, and its termination in the Atlantic Ocean, 
through the various mouths in the Delta, in the 
Bights of Benin and Biafra, according as recent 



Ixxvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



travellers have found it to be. At the same time, in 
various memorials, the civilization of Africa, and the 
suppression of the foreign slave trade, by the means 
already pointed out, were pressed upon that Govern- 
ment, and mercantile men were adduced ready to under- 
take the work ; but official prejudices and fears were 
too strong, and Sierra Leone influence too powerful, for 
us then to accomplish the work. It was accordingly 
abandoned, but never wholly forgotten and relin- 
quished. It is, therefore, with great satisfaction I find 
that the attention and influence and exertions of 
powerful and influential men, and even of the Govern- 
ment itself, are now called forth and strenuously 
directed to this point, and by the same mode of pro- 
cedure. This great object, approached and conducted 
by judgment more than feeling, by practical know- 
ledge, and not preconceived opinions and theories, can 
hardly fail of success. The opinions and views which, 
at the time mentioned, I had occasion to bring forward, 
have undergone no alteration, nor any change ; on 
the contrary, every succeeding day and year that have 
since passed away have tended but more strongly to 
confirm the views and opinions then formed, taken, and 
advanced, and the plans and propositions then made. 
This, the volume entitled "The Geography of Northern 
Central Africa," &c, written by me, and published 
by Mr. Blackwood, Edinburgh, and Mr. Cadell, 
London, in 1821, will amply and distinctly show, 
and the following extracts, probably, be accounted 
sufficient to establish. 

But first permit me to lay before you the following 
extracts, from a memorial presented to Lord Viscount 
Melville, then first Lord of the Admiralty, and dated 
London, 19th August, 1820, in proof of my early 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Ixxvii 



views on these subjects. Time has but too truly 
verified the facts therein stated, and the opinions 
therein advanced: — 

" Without Great Britain can spread knowledge, civilization, and 
the advantages of legitimate commerce, and a desire for legitimate 
commerce throughout the interior regions of Africa, she will never 
put an end to the slave trade. All external efforts will be of no 
avail ; — and not only of no avail, but as the naval officers employed 
on that coast, and in that service, know, from experience, these 
efforts will tend to increase and to aggravate to an inconceivable degree 
all the horrors of that trade ; and not only so, but a continuation 
of our efforts in this way will rouse the hatred and indignation of all 
the native despots and barbarous population of Africa against the 
British name, to such a pitch, as will endanger the lives of every 
British subject wherever found in small parties in Africa, and thus 
shut up the interior from our view and from our research altogether, 
and put it out of our power to be of any service to that country, 
or to derive any benefits from it. Such, my Lord, from a deep 
consideration of the subject, your memorialist anticipates will be 
the results. Without we can put an end to that trade, also ruin, 
swift and inevitable, must overtake all our West Indian Colonies, 
and with their fall a deep, and perhaps incurable, wound will be 
inflicted on other Colonial establishments. 

"It is in Africa, my Lord, that this slave trade must be de- 
stroyed ; it is in her bosom that this fearful pestilence which 
corrodes her vitals, and diseases and paralyzes her whole frame, 
must be eradicated. Not by force, my Lord ; no ! but by the simple 
and easy process of showing the population and rulers of Africa, 
that we will give more for the produce of their labour and of their 
hands, than for the hand that raises, or could raise, that produce^ 
Then Africa, and the Africans, will abolish this trade. It is they 
alone who can do it. All the efforts, and all the navies of Europe, 
without their cordial support, will fail in the attempt." 

The extracts alluded to from the volume mentioned, 
are next brought forward as follows : — 

" Attention to every article of agriculture, and the demands in the 
regular course of trade, occasioned by the production of these, would be 



lxxviit 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



found the most easy, powerful, and effective engines which could be 
used to turn the attention of the population of Africa to understand 
their true interests, and consequently prove the most peaceable and 
expeditious mode of extending knowledge and civilization amongst 
them. Without roads and regular means of conveyance of goods 
and produce, such as we possess, the ignorant despot of the interior 
will never think of making his slaves, or his people, cultivate or 
transport produce of great bulk, and of laborious and expensive 
carriage, in order to procure in exchange articles which he requires, 
either for ornament or for use ; produce too, which is liable to be 
injured by the way, while, with a trifling labour, and at a still more 
trifling expense, the slave can be compelled to walk to the most 
distant market in order to be there sold and exchanged for mercan- 
tile commodities, to gratify the passions of a barbarous master. 
Nor have we any reason to expect any change while cut off from 
all ready communication with any enlightened nation ; and not only 
so, but, on the contrary, everywhere surrounded by fanatic powers, 
whose interest and whose policy it is to teach and encourage these 
sovereigns to follow an opposite course. It can tend to little advan- 
tage to cut off a foreign slave trade, (granting that could be made 
effectual) unless we teach the Africans how to employ their slaves 
in a more useful and profitable manner. Unless we do this, the 
abolition of the foreign slave trade will only tend to secure a greater 
number of wretched victims for those bloody " customs" and whole- 
sale butcheries under the name of sacrifices, which, are so frequent 
in many parts of Africa. 

" This detestable traffic must be gradually, that it may be wholly 
and entirely, abolished, not only between Africa and foreign countries, 
but in Africa between state and state. To accomplish this end 
effectually, it is necessary also to destroy that grovelling supersti- 
tion which disgraces human nature in Africa, and which binds the 
minds of prince and people in the worst and most ruinous of all 
bondage. In fact, it is this which leads to personal slavery, and 
every evil which afflicts Africa. Till the chains of superstition are 
broken asunder, neither the fetters of slavery, nor the yoke of the 
slave trade, ever will. The introduction of Christianity will dispel 
the terrors of the one, and its benign influence root out and remove 
the horrors of the other. Nothing else can accomplish the object. 
It is in our power to do this. The blessings and the benefits which, 
by the exertions of men from other countries, were first conferred 
upon us, we are bound to diffuse amongst other nations who remain 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRTCA. 



lxxix 



deprived of them. It is on this sure basis, the introduction of true 
religion, and the education of young and old in its principles and 
its duties, that we must build the fabric of our dominion and our 
fame in Africa. Every other means will prove a foundation of 
' sand,' which each flood of human passions will sweep away. 
But, erected on the rock of Christianity, the foundation of our power 
in Africa will be impregnable, and our dominions spread invulnera- 
ble against every assailing foe. 

" In this voyage (if I may use the expression) for the improve- 
ment of Africa, there are two fatal rocks which we must carefully 
avoid, if we wish to escape shipwreck. The first is, that, although 
the precious metals (gold in particular) abound in Africa, still, we 
must take care to direct the exertions of her people to those labours 
of greater importance, the profits of which can, at all times, command 
the precious metals, and which productions ought, in this case, as 
well as in every other, to be only a secondary object. The next is, 
we ought not to go to Africa with the rooted idea, that it was Euro- 
peans who occasioned slavery, and created a slave trade in, and with 
Africa. If we adopt this erroneous opinion, in order to act upon it 
we shall never take the right path or proper means to root out the 
one, or to destroy the other. It is Africa herself, as has already been 
remarked, that is the great root of the evil, though her guilt does not 
constitute European innocence, wherever the latter has participated 
in, or yet continues the traffic. 

" On the United States of America, we may say, we chiefly 
depend for the superior cottons for our finer manufactures. War 
betwixt those states and this country, is by no means an improbable 
event. Their interests would, no doubt, notwithstanding, lead them 
to get their cotton to a British market ; but, during war, it is evident 
that it could only find its way at an enhanced rate. This additional 
price might be such as would raise the value of our manufactures 
to a price beyond what continental nations could afford, or are 
inclined to give, and therefore lead them more and more to encourage 
manufactures of their own growth, and to manufacture for them- 
selves. It must therefore be of the first importance to our cotton 
manufacturers to be independent of America for a supply of fine 
cottons. Africa, as we shall presently see more at large, can furnish 
that supply. The tea trade to China is a continued drain upon this 
country for specie. From good authority, it seems that this valuable 
plant may be cultivated to advantage on the rich plains which extend 
between the Rio Volta and the Niger. Also the old Arabian 



XXX 



IMPROVEMENT OE AFRICA. 



traveller, Batouta, who had visited China, states, that in the interior 
parts of Africa, along the Niger, which he visited, the tea plant grew 
abundantly. Here is another and a mighty inducement to secure, 
as ours, the produce of these regions. In comparison with China, 
these parts are at the door ; and the difference in freight and insur- 
ance alone, would give the tea there produced, a decided superiority 
in the European market, and in the markets of every part of the 
western world. It could also be obtained from Africa in exchange 
for our manufactures, and not as from China, in exchange for 
specie only. 

" In an undertaking of this kind, we are not to be led away by too 
sanguine hopes of immediate success ; because, if we are so, we 
shall be completely and unnecessarily discouraged at any untoward 
circumstance which may, in the course of events, come in our way. 
Neither are we to imagine that the population of Africa, or indeed 
any other population within the torrid zone, can be brought to 
exert themselves in the same manner as the hardier natives of tem- 
perate climates. But were the exertions of the former only brought 
to equal one-half the labours of the latter, the gain would be im- 
mense to Africa and to the world. It would give a new turn and 
a different tone to the feelings and pursuits of the population of that 
unhappy country. But nothing can be done, nothing ever will be 
done, to alter their present indolent and inactive mode of life, till 
justice and general security are spread throughout these extensive 
regions. It would .be vain to expect industry or exertion on their 
parts, in order to procure the comforts and the luxuries of life, 
when no one can call any thing he may possess his own, or where 
the superior wealth which he does possess, serves only to mark him 
out as the prey of the unfeeling robber or sovereign despot. Formid- 
able as these two scourges are in Africa, still they are only so to the 
feeble and imbecile population, whom superstition and ignorance 
have, from time immemorial, taught to bend under the yoke. 
Before the power, energy, intelligence — before the firmness, pru- 
dence, and justice of Great Britain, these would vanish. Those 
fearful butcheries, under the name of " customs" at the death of any 
person of note, so prevalent in southern Africa, would disappear. 
Industry and commerce would raise theirheads. Christianity would 
enter, with liberty in her train ; and the unprincipled despot, and 
the sanguinary freebooter, would shrink back into the deserts, and 
be heard of no more ! 

"The rivers are the roads in the torrid zone. Nature seems to 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lxxxi 



have intended these as the great help in introducing agriculture and 
commerce. Wherever the continents are most extensive, there we 
find the most magnificent rivers flowing through them, opening up a 
communication from side to side. What is still more remarkable, 
and becomes of great utility, is, that these mighty currents flow 
against the prevailing winds, thus rendering the navigation easy, 
which would otherwise be extremely tedious and difficult. This is 
the case with the great Maranon and Oronoco in South America. 
The prevailing trade winds blow right up their streams. This is the 
ease with the Niger, and in a more particular manner during the time 
it is in flood. For ten months in the year, but more particularly 
from May till November, the prevailing wind in the Bights of Benin 
and Biafra is from south-west, thus blowing right up all the outlets of 
the Niger. January and February are the months during which the 
Harmattan wind blows,— a dry wind coming from the north-east, and 
from the great deserts south of the Mediterranean. In the Congo, 
Tuckey found the breeze generally blowing up the stream. It is 
needless to point out at length the advantages which may be derived 
from this wise regulation in the natural world. The meanest capa- 
city may comprehend this. 



"There is no efficient way to arrest the progress of this deep- 
rooted evil, but to teach the Negroes useful knowledge, and the arts 
of civilized life. Left to themselves, the Negroes will never effec- 
tually accomplish this. It must be done by a mighty power, which 
will take them under its protection — a power sufficiently bold, en- 
lightened, and just, to burst asunder the chains of that grovelling 
superstition which enthrals and debases their minds, and which, with 
the voice of authority, can unite the present jarring elements which 
exist in Africa, and direct them to honourable and useful pursuits. 
A small portion of European knowledge and spirit would be suffi- 
cient to rouse the Negro to assert his independence, and drive back, 
with shame and disgrace, any force which either the Moors or the Arabs 
could send against him. Till this is done — till the native princes 
are taught that they may be rich without selling men — and till 
Africa is shown that it is in the labour and industry of her popu- 
lation, and in the cultivation of her soil, that true wealth consists — 
and till that population can see a power which can protect them 
from such degrading bondage, there can be no security for liberty or 

9 



lxxxii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



property in Africa ; and, consequently, no wish or hope for improve- 
ment amongst her population. Slavery and a slave trade existed in 
all their virulence many centuries before Europeans had any know- 
ledge of western and of southern Africa. Were the European abolition 
rendered ever so effectual — were all the traffic with the other places 
previously enumerated completely abolished, still this would scarcely 
dry up one tear that flows to swell the tide of African misery. 
Millions are still slaves — slaves to slaves in Africa. It is in Africa* 
therefore, that this evil must be rooted out — by African hands and 
African exertions chiefly that it can be destroyed. It is a waste of 
time and a waste of means, an aggravation of the disorder, to keep 
lopping off the smaller branches of a malignant, a vigorous and 
re-productive plant, while the root and stem remain uninjured, care- 
fully supplied with nourishment, and beyond our reach. Half the 
sums we have expended in this manner, would have planted us 
firmly in interior Africa, and rooted up slavery for ever. Only 
teach them and show them that we will give them more for their 
produce than for the hand that rears it, and the work is done. All 
other methods and means will prove ineffectual. 

" Granting that the navigation of the Niger was interrupted at 
Boussa, by reason of rapids or rocks rising amidst the stream ; 
still, we know that the river can be navigated in safety from Boussa 
upwards, and from Boussa downwards. Therefore, on this com- 
manding spot, let the British standard be firmly planted, and no 
power in Africa could tear it up. A trifling land- carriage would 
then give this nation nearly all the advantages of an open naviga- 
tion, and, by such a natural barrier, place the Niger completely 
under her control. Firmly planted in central Africa, the British 
flag would become the rallying point for all that is honourable, 
useful, beneficial, just, and good. Under the mighty shade thereof 
the nations would seek security, comfort, and repose. Allies Great 
Britain would find in abundance. They would flock to her settle- 
ment, if it had the power and the means to protect them. The resources 
of Africa, and the energies of Africa, under a wise and vigorous 
policy, may be made to subdue and control Africa. Let Britain 
only form such a settlement, and give it that countenance, support, 
and protection, which the wisdom and energy of British councils can 
give, and which the power and resources of the British empire can 
so well maintain, and central Africa, to future ages, will remain a 
grateful and obedient dependency of this empire. The latter will 
become the centre of all the wealth, and the focus of all the industry 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lxxxiii 



of the former. Then the Niger, like the Ganges, would acknow- 
ledge Great Britain as its protector — our king, as its lord. 

" The extent of country and population, the improvements, labours, 
and wants of which, would be dependent upon, and stimulated to 
exertions by, a settlement on the Niger, is prodigious, and altogether 
unequalled. The extent compromises a country of nearly 40° of 
longitude from E. to W. ; and through the greater part of this extent 
of 20° latitude, from north to south, a space almost equal to Europe. 
Where the confluence of the Bahr Kulla with the Niger takes place, 
is the spot to erect the capital of our great African establishments. 
A city built there, under the protecting wings of Great Britain, and 
extended, enriched, and embellished by the industry, skill, and 
spirit of her sons, would, ere long, become the capital of Africa. 
Fifty millions of people, yea, even a greater number, would be de- 
pendent on it. 

" Unfold the map of the world : we command the Ganges ; fortified 
at Bombay, the Indus is our own. Possessed of the islands in the 
mouth of the Persian Gulf, we command the outlets of Persia, 
and the mouths of the Euphrates, and consequently of countries the 
cradle of the human race. We command at the Cape of Good Hope ; 
Gibraltar and Malta belonging to us, we control the Mediterranean. 
Let us plant the British standard on the island of Socotora — upon the 
island of Fernando Po — and inland upon the banks of the Niger, 
and then we may say, Asia and Africa, for all their productions and 
all their wants, are under our control. It is in our power. Nothing 
can prevent us. A tenth part of the sum which our merchants and 
manufacturers have lost in overstocking old markets, would have 
been sufficient to fix us securely in Africa, and to have developed 
completely all the mercantile stores which she possesses, and the 
improvements of which she is susceptible." 

The sentiments and opinions thus expressed twenty 
years ago have, as has already been stated, undergone 



no change. In the month of June, 1838, when I 



meeting, that himself and his influential friends were 
about to direct their attention to other and more 




9 2 



lxxxiv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



energetic means for checking and suppressing the 
foreign slave trade, and for improving Africa, the same 
opinions were urged, and continued to be urged, while 
labouring closely with him, and also for the cause 
of Africa through him, during the period of eighteen 
months previous to his departure for Italy. In sup- 
port of that cause, and for the objects mentioned, the 
subsequent geographical survey of Africa was under- 
taken and written, and the map which accompanies 
this work constructed. About twelve months ago, 
when your Lordship's predecessor in office, Lord 
Glenelg, did me the honour to inquire if I would go 
out to Africa, to carry the views of government 
into effect, and requested me to draw up such in- 
structions and forms of treaties as might be con- 
sidered advisable to enter into with native African 
powers ; my reply to the latter part of the request 
was that, before any such instructions and forms 
of treaties could be drawn out, it would be necessary 
for her Majesty's government, and the other party 
engaged in the matter, to determine specifically the 
object and the duties of the mission to be sent, and 
the nature of the treaties, especially the commercial 
treaties, which, consistent with the commercial treaties 
existing between Great Britain and other powers, 
could be entered into with any chiefs and states 
in Africa. To accelerate, and so far to guide, the 
decision alluded to, and upon the understanding that 
the course to be pursued in all our future proceedings 
connected with the suppression of the slave trade and 
the improvement of Africa, was in that continent de- 
cidedly and expressly neither to be by conquest nor 
colonization, but by precept, example, instruction, and 
friendship; a paper, of which the following is a copy, 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. lxXXV 

was drawn up by me, and placed in his Lordship's 
hands. Soon after his Lordship quitted office ; 
and thus, so far as the humble individual who thus 
addresses you is concerned, this part of the matter 
terminated. 

AFRICA— TREATIES— INSTRUCTIONS. 

There are three modes which may be followed to benefit Africa 
and the world. The first is by conquest ; the second is by coloniza- 
tion ; and the third is by example and persuasion — the introduction 
of European capital, intelligence, and industry, into that quarter by 
any civilized European power, or by the subjects of such a power. 

The two first modes would accomplish the work of African regene- 
ration and civilization the most rapidly ; the first more rapidly than 
the second ; the last slower than either of the two first, but judici- 
ously gone about, perhaps equally sure, and certainly without that 
expense and loss of life which would attend the two first, and espe- 
cially on the mode by conquest. 

The latter, for various reasons, being considered the preferable 
plan, and that which it has been determined to adopt ; the prelimi- 
nary steps necessary to be taken are — for the British government to 
make treaties of peace and amity and commerce with the native 
chiefs, who rule in the most commanding positions in Africa. 
Next, or along with these steps on the part of the government, for 
certain directors to form a Joint Stock Company* with a large 
capital, with limited responsibility to the shareholders, and under 
the known countenance and protection of that government, and 
under the direction of well-known capitalists, and judicious and 
eminent and practical mercantile men. 

To make these treaties with the native chiefs, a person or persons 
should be forthwith sent to Africa, fully authorized and instructed by 
the British government ; and this person or persons should, at least 
one of them, be also instructed and empowered by the said company, 
to take at the same time, the necessary measures to pave the way 
for the introduction of their servants amongst the Africans ; and to 

* Although one agricultural Company is here spoken of, it is not supposed to 
limit the privileges to one. There may be fifty similar in Africa. 



Ixxxvi 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



take all preliminary steps which may appear to be necessary to 
commence their operations as speedily as possible in those parts of 
Africa which may be pitched upon as the future field for their opera- 
tions and proceedings. 

While it is stated, messengers should be sent to Africa, it is 
necessary to remark, that one only should have the full powers to 
act ; the others who accompany him possessing equal talents, and 
judgment, and experience, attending to succeed, in the event of the 
death of the chief messenger, in order, that under the same instruc- 
tions, the objects of the mission may be carried forward. Unity of 
action in everything that regards Africa, is of the first and of vital 
importance ; and everything that could, by any possibility, lead to 
discordant views or opinions in any mission when working in 
Africa, ought to be most carefully guarded against. 

The messenger or messengers so sent, should be acquainted with, 
and accustomed to, a tropical climate ; possessed of a knowledge of 
the negro character ; well acquainted with geographical subjects in 
general, and with African geography in particular ; together with 
a practical knowledge of tropical lands and tropical agriculture ; and 
also with a general knowledge of commercial affairs ; the markets of 
the world best fitted for colonial productions, and the state and 
condition of those countries which afford the largest supplies of 
colonial productions for these different markets, and with which the 
producer in Africa must come in competition. 

INSTRUCTIONS. 

These messengers, both on the part of the government and the 
company alluded to, should be instructed to form treaties and alli- 
ances with the most potent African chiefs in those parts of Africa, 
which are most easily reached by an European maritime power ; to 
observe and select the parts which are best adapted for cultivation, 
and which have also the easiest means of transporting the produce 
raised, to shipping places ; and choosing at the same time those 
points and those states where the political power and influence of 
rulers are greatest, in order to extend, by that power and that influ- 
ence, the great objects which the British government and the pro- 
jected company have in view with regard to Africa. 

The treaties so made with the native powers in these parts, which 
the proposed company will point out as the most eligible, will, with 
the customary preliminaries and formalities, be either defensive, or 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lxxxvii 



offensive and defensive, as the British government may deem it most 
advisable and prudent to enter into. 

If, for peace and friendship, and defensive only, the conditions 
should be, that the native power, or powers, as may be, should bind 
themselves not only to put an end to the foreign slave trade, but also 
to the sale of slaves in their states destined for other African states 
in the interior ; and further, to use all their influence with neigh- 
bouring powers to do the same within their territories ; that they 
should allow the British company or settlers to buy or rent land 
within their dominions wherever that might be considered the most 
eligible and best fitted for the intended objects ; and that they should 
protect, with all their power and influence, the capital and property 
of such company and settlers from violence and disturbance, and, at 
the same time, give every encouragement, not only to these settlers^ 
but also to such of their own subjects as may be inclined to follow 
the example proposed to be set before them. 

That these powers should bind themselves to give every reason- 
able facility to all agricultural and commercial operations, internal or 
external, which may be gone into by the said company and other 
settlers, and to refrain from imposing duties on articles and pro- 
duce commercial or agricultural, exported or imported ; or such 
only as are reasonable and reciprocal, such as are settled or may 
be settled by treaty between such powers — the British government 
and the company alluded to. Further, that this company, and any 
British settlers who may settle with or under them, whatever their 
colour may be, shall be permitted and empowered to try, and judge, 
and punish, all criminals amongst themselves, in conformity to 
British law and usages, and in a similar manner to that which 
British residents at Canton, in China, were permitted to do ; and to 
enable them to do this, the British government must provide such 
company and such settlers, with proper judges, armed with the com- 
petent authority. 

That these native powers should be bound to permit the said 
company and settlers who may join them, or any British settlers, to 
erect forts, as may be necessary, and in such parts of their dominions 
as may at present, or at any future time, be considered necessary 
for the protection of the persons of such company, and the property 
of such company, and the factories established by such company ; 
the said company and the British government paying such reasonable 
sums as may be agreed upon for the right to do so. 

Until civilization spreads, and political power and government 



Ixxxviii 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



becomes more stable in Africa, it will be better and more prudent to 
rent lands yearly than to purchase ; or, if to purchase, then to do so 
payable at the rate of so much per annum ; and likewise so of all 
presents and gratuities which may be given to the native chiefs, 
according as the latter shall be fixed by treaties. This will prevent 
excessive and unjust demands being made and repeated, owing to 
the sudden change of dynasties and authority which too frequently 
take place in Africa. 

These yearly tributes or presents must be fixed at a reasonable 
rate — at a low rate will make any chief in Africa a rich man. See 
what may be effected in this way ! The price of a slave in the 
interior is only 25s. sterling. Of this, or out of this, the chief 
receives as dues equal to probably 2s. or 4s. sterling, if so much. 
(Muckni, the barbarous viceroy of Fezzan, exacts only one dollar and 
a half duty for each slave.) Give him or them 10s., and 100,000/. so 
spent would prevent the exportation of 200,000 slaves annually, 
and save Great Britain her present annual outlay, (less the 100,000/. 
so paid,) one way or other, above 600,000/., expended, too, ineffectu- 
ally to suppress the African foreign slave trade. 

On these conditions — namely, the extinction of the slave trade, so 
far as above-mentioned, and the protection of British subjects, 
property, and commerce — all the produce from such African state or 
states to be admitted into every British port on the same terms as 
that from the ports of the most favoured nations. If the British 
government can lower any duties on African produce, that is, admit 
the productions of Africa, not purely belonging to British settlers 
and subjects, on British territory, at lower duties than similar 
produce from other countries is admitted, that concession would be 
well, and afford great encouragement to any such company and 
settlers as above alluded to, to go on with the proposed under- 
taking. But this is a grave subject, and one which, from existing 
treaties and the position of this country, as connected with other 
civilized countries with which treaties exist, requires not only the 
utmost consideration, but the utmost caution, because those nations 
whose immediate interests may be invaded or threatened by the in- 
creased agricultural productions of Africa, as some of these certainly 
will be, may adopt a similar line of policy with regard to the pro- 
ductions of this or other countries with which they are connected, to 
the great and serious, perhaps insupportable, loss of great manu- 
facturing and commercial interests in Great Britain. 

This is a point and preliminary of the first and the utmost im- 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



lxxxix 



portance. It is necessary for the British government to consider 
and determine not only what they will do, and what they can do, 
but also what they cannot do, in such matters. Without a full 
knowledge of these points no negotiator can direct his steps with 
safety or right in Africa. 

With the market of the world open to Africa on equal terms, 
the cheapness of labour in Africa need fear no competition in any 
quarter ; and Great Britain will have a right to require of all foreign 
nations to admit into their ports all produce raised in Africa under 
her immediate auspices and protection, on equal terms as the pro- 
ductions of the most favoured nations. It will, moreover, for a 
time, be impossible to discriminate in African productions those that 
are raised by free domestic labour from those that are produced by 
domestic slave labour. 

On the above conditions, a treaty of amity, peace, and friend- 
ship, or a defensive treaty also, as may be considered advisable, to 
be concluded between Great Britain and African princes. It is 
worthy of the consideration of the British government, if they would 
conclude with any powerful African sovereign, who may agree 
to put an end, not only to the external slave trade, but also to 
domestic slavery, a treaty offensive and defensive, with the addi- 
tional privileges and immunities which such a treaty would convey 
and ought to convey. 

These African chiefs should be bound to protect, in the strongest 
manner, all the teachers of the people, or preachers of Christianity, 
who may come from Great Britain, or any other christian country, 
amongst them. To aid in the same noble cause, the British govern- 
ment should engage, through the proposed company, to contribute 
for a certain time, along with the native power or powers, to the 
support of such teachers and preachers and their respective establish- 
ments. That these native powers, wherever human sacrifices exist, 
whether to the manes of friends, or to any of their grovelling deities, 
or bloody fetisch rites, be urged, but without threatening or violence, 
to bind themselves to put an end to such sacrifices throughout their 
respective dominions as the price of every favour, reward, or support 
that they receive, or are to expect from Great Britain. 

That these native powers should engage to give protection to all 
slaves who may come into their states from neighbouring countries, 
and allow the proposed company to engage them as servants and 
labourers. It will, however, be prudent to consider whether it may 



xc 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



be wise or politic for the said company, at least at the outset, to 
become the protectors, or to appear as the protectors, of such slaves, 
because it might tend to prejudice other states against them, 
amongst which states it is desirable that the company, both as 
agriculturists and as merchants, should obtain a footing as early 
as they possibly can. A hasty step may retard this ; and thus the 
evil arising on the one hand be much greater than the good obtained 
on the other, even were it obtained without danger. 

The government and the company must pursue their plans for 
the good of Africa, and for the advantage of this country, with 
energy, in truth, in sincerity, and honesty : and those employed under 
both must do the same thing. Example is more powerful than 
precept ; and a strict attention, both in public and private, to every 
moral and religious duty, is indispensable amongst all that may be 
employed in every department. Such conduct will work wonders 
in Africa. The reverence which Mahommedans, even in outward 
appearance, publicly show to a Supreme Being, gives them a pass- 
port into every corner of Africa. Peace and good- will must be 
sought and cultivated by the greatest prudence, judgment and for- 
bearance, and clemency. On the other hand, every senseless or 
determined infraction or violation of treaties made on the part of 
any of the African chiefs, to the detriment of any British subject, 
must be instantly resented and punished by Great Britain ; and to 
enable her to do so effectually, and without much trouble and loss, 
the settlements for that object, as well as for commercial reasons 
and objects, should, for a time, be placed upon or near the great 
rivers. 

The messengers sent should be instructed to collect every infor- 
mation that they can possibly collect regarding the probability of 
terminating domestic slavery, and the human sacrifices, and the 
degrading superstition so prevalent in Africa ; and, in the first place, 
communicate that information to England, in order that it may there 
form the subject of deep consideration and consultation, and become 
a sure guide for the future proceeding of the Government and the 
company in all the regulations and directions which may be drawn 
up regarding these very important matters. So deeply are all these 
evils rooted, so widely and so universally are they spread in Africa, 
that the utmost caution and prudence are necessary to know how to 
interfere with, in order to remove them. They must either be 
interfered with by a most prudent, and forbearing, and patient 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



xci 



hand ; or, at once grappled by a bold, and determined, and 
powerful one. 

The messengers sent ought to make every inquiry into the 
proper way to proceed with safety into the more potent and interest- 
ing countries in the interior of Africa, and ought not only to go 
themselves into every part where communication is practicable, but 
to engage and to empower others to do so ; keeping always in 
mind not to push too far where by doing so every thing that had 
been learned, may be lost ; but to make sure of their footsteps and 
grounds so far, and then return with the knowledge previously 
obtained to push their researches further, and with the certainty of 
success. The want of this precaution has already occasioned sad 
delays in acquiring proper African knowledge, and consequently has 
tended to retard every proper undertaking that might have been 
entered into to benefit Africa, and by benefiting her to have put an 
end to the foreign slave trade, the annihilation of which, is to 
advance the best commercial interests of Great Britain, and the 
general interests and welfare of the human race. 

That the African chiefs with whom treaties are made, ought 
to bind themselves no longer to make prisoners or slaves of any 
European, or other persons under them, who may be passing through 
the dominions of these chiefs on journeys of research, or for com- 
mercial objects and other lawful and necessary purposes ; but on 
the contrary, that they should afford every such European or other 
person every assistance and facility in their power to forward their 
views and their objects. 

That the messengers so sent to Africa, and individuals proceed- 
ing under the proposed company to settle there, should use their 
utmost efforts to make the Africans in general comprehend the value 
of time, of which they have not at present the slightest idea ; that 
time is money and property. Without they are brought to under- 
stand this, no permanent good ever will, or can be, effected in Africa. 
To give one instance of the waste of time, out of multitudes which 
could be adduced, De Caille mentions in his travels of meeting at 
Douasso, on the banks of the Kowara Ba, a native of Kong, who 
had travelled thence to Jinne (450 geographical miles) carrying with 
him, on his head, a basket of colat nuts which he bartered for salt 
and other trifling necessaries at Jinne, and was returning with these 
in his basket to his country — the whole journey occupying him 
about six months ! ! 



XC1I 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



Coffee, sugar, indigo, cotton, every article of exportable colonial 
produce, but especially cotton of the finest quality, can be produced 
in almost every spot in tropical Africa ; and the messengers of 
government and the servants of the company should be instructed 
to use every effort to encourage the production of these, and of 
every other exportable and exchangeable article, but especially 
cotton ; to show the natives how to rear and to prepare all these 
articles, and to choose persons of competent and practical knowledge 
to teach, both by precept and example, the Africans in all these 
matters. The sale of these articles will speedily procure the latter 
wealth and capital, and these will necessarily lead them to seek 
after — first, all the necessaries of life, and next its luxuries, and at 
the same time enable them to pay for these. 

It is quite impossible to go minutely into the instructions 
which should be given to the messengers who may be sent into 
Africa, as their proceedings and movements must, in some measure, 
be guided by circumstances which may arise, and occurrences which 
may take place around them. Possessing, however, a full know- 
ledge of the general views and objects of the British government, 
and the British company^ much may be left— must be left to their 
own judgment and discretion ; but in all very weighty matters which 
may appear to be out of the common course of calculation, (and 
such will arise in African matters) and where time will permit, 
reference should be left to England ; and where time will not 
permit without the most serious injury and danger to the great 
objects held in view, then, under such circumstances the messengers 
must be permitted by both the Government and the company to 
follow the dictates of their own judgment, in every case, except 
such as in the result might involve the question of war between 
Great Britain and any African state. 

London, 12th January, 1839. 

Before concluding*, permit me to observe, that it 
has been stated in the public journals, on the authority 
of communications lately received from Rio de Janeiro, 
that the captured Africans carried into the ports of 
the Brazils, are afterwards let out to such as may take 



IMPROVEMENT Of AFRICA. 



XClll 



them upon the payment of the 51., the amount of the 
bounty money previously advanced by the British 
government to the captors. Can this be true? If 
it is so, it is the readiest way that has yet been con- 
trived to give the slave trade wider scope, and enable 
those who wish it to be continued, to obtain slaves at 
a very cheap rate. People in the Brazils have only to 
combine together ; fit out a ship for Africa ; fill her 
with slaves at 61. or 7/. sterling each, (the price on 
the coast of Africa,) and suffer the whole to be captured, 
and then pay 51. for each of the people so captured; 
when, even after defraying the loss of the ship, 
supposing she had gone to sea without being insured, 
they will obtain the slaves at the rate of 40/. sterling 
each, instead of 70/., which they pay to the regular 
slave merchant. 

The experience of many years has shown, in the 
clearest manner, that while there is a demand for 
African slaves, there will be found the means to 
supply that demand in one shape or another. Rather 
than that things should go on as they are, and as they 
have been going on during the last thirty years, 
and supposing that nothing further is to be done for 
Africa to ameliorate and change her internal institu- 
tions and pursuits, it would be better, far better, for 
Great Britain to withdraw her ships from the African 
coasts, abandon all her expensive slave trade suppres- 
sion machinery, and keep the 600,000/. she yearly 
expends in vain in this matter, in her pocket. No 
more negroes than are carried from the coast of Africa, 
would be carried away (the supply would be regu- 
lated as it now is by the demand) ; while the number 
that might, under such circumstances, be subsequently 



xciv 



IMPROVEMENT OF AFRICA. 



carried away, would be transported from Africa to 
America in such a manner, as would prevent the 
horrid sacrifice of human life which is at present 
witnessed in the African slave trade, almost wholly 
owing to the manner in which it is carried on. 

I am, &c. 

JAMES M'QUEEN. 

London, 

30^ January, 1840. 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 

OF 

AFRICA. 



GENERAL 

GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 

OF 

AFRICA. 



Africa, one of the four quarters of the world, and the third 
on the scale in point of magnitude, extends north to south from 
Cape Bianco in 9° 48' E. long, and in 37° 20' N. lat., to the 
Cape of Good Hope in 34° 22' S. lat. and 2S° 24' 24" E. 
long. ; and east to west from Cape Asser, 11° 48' 50" N. lat., 
and in 51° 14' 30" E. long., to Cape de Verd in 14° 44' 40" 
N. lat., and 17° 32' 20" W. long., being in its extreme length 
from north to south 4302, and in its extreme breadth from 
east to west 4127 geographical miles. This important and 
vast portion of the world, hitherto but little known, and less 
attended to for any good or beneficial purpose, stretches 
through the whole of the torrid zone, and includes within its 
borders 11° lat. of the southern, and 14° lat. of the northern 
temperate zones ; thus enjoying the finest and most productive 
climates on the face of the globe. 

The countries extending throughout by far the greater por- 
tion of the vast surface just mentioned are, as regards soil and 
capabilities, amongst the finest in the world ; but the popula- 
tion of the whole, with the exception of Egypt in ancient times, 
and the population on the shores of the Mediterranean when 
under the Carthaginian, the Roman, and the brighter days of 
Arab sway, have through every age been, and yet are, sunk 
into the lowest depths of ignorance, superstition, disorganization, 



B 



2 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



and debasement ; the glimmer of civilization which for a time 
appeared in Nubia and Abyssinia, scarcely, as compared 
with the whole, forming an exception. If it was possible also 
to sink Africa into a worse state of disorganization, ignorance, 
and distraction than that in which she has hitherto been, the 
present is the moment when such a state of things is eminently 
and particularly witnessed. Her state cannot be worse or more 
unfavourable ; while the hope and probability is, that from this 
time forward matters will improve, and it is to be hoped rapidly 
improve, in her favour. 

The history of Egypt, the conspicuous part which for many 
centuries she acted on the theatre of the world, and the history 
of the countries along the shores of the Mediterranean, long 
the granaries of Rome and support of the Roman Empire in its 
proudest days, are so well known that it is considered quite 
unnecessary to say much about these countries here. Egypt, 
as early as the days of Sesostris, had extended her conquering 
arms far to the south of Cape Guardafui, and deep into the 
interior of Africa, as the figures representing the people, the 
animals, and the productions of the soil of Africa on the sculp- 
tures, and on the paintings found in the ancient temples of 
Egypt and on her mummies, clearly show. During the pride 
of Roman power, and under the previous government of the 
Ptolemies, Egypt contained 7,500,000 inhabitants ; the cities 
were numerous and very populous — Alexandria alone contain- 
ing 700,000 inhabitants. In Western Africa 300 cities owned 
the sway or superiority of Carthage, each vying with the other 
in wealth and population, and some of them scarcely yielding to 
Carthage in splendour, while that city measured itself almost 
with Rome in the zenith of her power and her glory (see 
Gibbon, &c). Under the reign of Seidy Mahommed, Morocco 
exported in one year grain which loaded 250 sail of ships from 
150 to 700 tons, the duties on which, at 1 doll, per 80 lbs., 
amounted to 5,257,820 Mexican dollars. Such, even yet, is the 
fruitfulness of that part of Africa. — (Jackson's Shabeeny.) 

The population of Africa is composed of various races of 
men, and of an intermixture from each of the different races. 
The original inhabitants of the northern parts remain under the 
name of Berbers. This people are scattered over Africa north 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF .AFRICA. 3 

of the Great Desert from Morocco into Bornou, and along the 
Red Sea and coast of the Indian Ocean as far as Mozambique. 
They are supposed to be the same as the ancient Numidians. 
Their language is original, and different from any other. They 
themselves assert that it is the same language as was spoken 
by the patriarch Noah. The Arabian writers assert that these 
people are descended from Ham, and that their ancestors were 
expelled from Palestine and Syria and Phoenicia. There is in 
the north-west portion of Africa, and in the west from the 
Senegal to the Rokelle, the remains of the old Numidians or 
Berbers, the Carthaginian and Roman provincials driven across 
the desert first by the Vandals, and next by the Saracen arms. 
They are of a copper colour, and found under the general 
name of Foulahs. They are chiefly a pastoral people, and 
extend in their original and connected dwellings or country 
from the sources of the Rio Pongas, &c. along by the sources 
of the Gambia, the Senegal, and the eastern branches of that 
stream to the confines of Benowm and Beero. They are the 
same people as the Fellatahs, who have become warriors. 
Their armies, consisting of cavalry, have, within the last 100 
years, extended their sway over all central Africa, eastward as 
far as Bagherme and Mandara, spreading ruin and desolation 
wherever they came. Clapperton was told by one of them, 
that they are the same people as the Wahabees in Arabia, 
which, if so, is a very curious fact. The descendants of the 
Arabs are found over a vast extent of the interior of northern 
Africa and along the shore of the Indian Ocean. They every- 
where follow the tenets of the Mahommedan religion in its most 
rigid and fanatic code, and consequently Christians are every- 
where held in the utmost detestation, and are always in danger 
amongst them. The Arab tribes dwell in or bear the sway 
over Bornou, Bagherme, Dar Saley, Darfur, Kordofan, and 
over the greater portion of the course of the Bahr-el-Abiad. 
South of the parallel of 10° N. lat., with the exception of the 
lower course of the Bahr-el-Abiad, the population is almost 
wholly black, and of the pure negro race ; until, approaching 
the southern tropic, the Hottentot race which spreads to the 
southern extremity of the Continent in the western division of 
that portion of Africa, and the CafFres in the east portion of 

b 2 



4 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



that quarter, a distinct race from the Negro, and who seem to 
be descended from some one of the numerous Asiatic tribes, are 
severally met with. The whole Negro race, the Hottentot, and 
the Caffie, are Pagans, and of the most degraded and debased 
class, in all their religious creeds, many of them, in fact, having 
scarcely any idea of religion at all. Abyssinia, a considerable 
empire in the east quarter of Africa, adjoining the straits of 
Babel-Mandeb and the western coast of the Red Sea, professes 
to be Christian, of the tenets of the Alexandrian Church; but 
isolated as that state has in a great measure been from the remain- 
der of the civilized world for many centuries, superstition and 
ignorance are fast obscuring the light which once spread in 
it. With this exception, Africa (what exists in European 
colonies is not, as compared to the whole, w T orth taking into 
account), in religious belief, may be divided into Pagan and 
Mahommedan, the former far outnumbering the latter. A 
considerable number of Jews are found in the interior of 
northern Africa, and in some places, such as Goober and 
Saccatoo, and places adjoining, we find the remains of the 
Copts, the original inhabitants of Egypt, who, at one time, held 
a considerable dominion in Africa, from Lake Shad, or Zad, 
westward, to the borders of the Niger ; and who, moreover, 
there is reason to believe, at one time professed the Christian 
faith. The belief is universal in that portion of Africa, that 
Gamberou, once a great capital, belonged to the Christians 
from Egypt. 

The authority of Egypt in early times, as already alluded 
to, and as early probably as the days of Moses, extended deeply 
into the interior parts of Africa, and at later dates, there is 
reason to believe also, far into those countries situated to the 
south of Abyssinia on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The 
eastern coasts of Africa beyond the straits of Babel-Mandeb, 
and to the southward of Cape Guardafui probably as far as 
Sofala, were certainly well known both to Egypt, to the enter- 
prising merchants of Tyre, and to the sovereigns of Judea, 
from the days of Solomon downwards. In latter periods the 
conquering Arabs, when they had become Mahommedans, 
extended their sway over all the eastern coasts of Africa, to 
probably 25° S. lat. The remains of their power and civilization 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



5 



and religion are found over all these places at the present day, 
and although their authority had considerably declined when 
the Portuguese discovered these parts 400 years ago, still it 
was then strong and extensive ; so much so, that their com- 
mercial intercourse with India was frequent and very consider- 
able. There can also be no doubt that, about 600 years ago, 
their arms and their power and their authority extended south- 
wards from Gana to the delta of the Niger. The Portuguese 
pilot, in the narrative of a voyage undertaken from Lisbon to 
the Isle St. Thome, about 1520 to 1530, says, that the popu- 
lation of Benin were partly Mahommedans and partly Pagans. 
Arabic words and customs are yet found intermixed with the 
language and the customs of the different nations and states in 
that part of the African coast; and unless the delta of the 
Niger, and the salt places therein, are the mouths of the Nile 
of the early Arabian geographers, distant from Gana forty days' 
journey and navigation (the distance given between Kano and 
Benin at this day), their Gana must be removed to a very dif- 
ferent portion of Africa to that wherein their authority clearly 
places it, and to a position, a resemblance to which can nowhere 
be found in any portion of Africa. 

The power of Abyssinia was at one time very great, and ex- 
tensively known and felt in Africa. The might of the sove- 
reigns of this country was known even to the delta of the 
Niger ; and it was upon the discovery of this delta, and the 
communication which, in consequence of that discovery, the 
Portuguese had with the sovereign of Benin, that they first 
heard of a great Christian power in eastern Africa, at a distance 
of a journey of ticenty moons, or Prestyr John as their early 
writers styled him. That a communication existed between 
Benin and Abyssinia, and countries on the upper part of the 
Egyptian Nile is certain, and admitted, and well known in 
Africa. That communication no doubt took place by the 
Shadda or Shaderbah, and the Bahr-el-Abiad rivers. Dupuis 
has, in fact, given us this route and distance as still known in 
Africa, namely, 100 days' journey, partly by land, and partly by 
water. This distance, 1,600 miles, is just the distance between 
Benin and the frontiers of Abyssinia near Senaar. 

It is here necessary and proper to remark, that the period of 



6 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



" tiventy moons" is so stated in Murray's Africa, while in 
Clarke's Maritime Discovery, the distance given to the capital 
of Organe from Benin is 250 Portuguese leagues, in which 
case, the capital alluded to must be Kano or Gana, and not 
Abyssinia. The fact however appears to be, that the accounts 
relating to the two places have been, by the carelessness of 
translators and transcribers, blended in one ; and that while 
the sovereign of Benin was, to a certain extent, dependent 
upon Gana, the former was also acquainted with Abyssinia. 

These introductory and general remarks are considered suf- 
ficient for the present purpose. The subsequent geographical 
review of Africa will, in consequence, be confined to the 
countries and places to the south of Egypt and the Barbary 
States, and in an especial manner be pursued to open up, as far 
as possible, and as far as the present state of our information 
will enable us to accomplish, the following subjects, namely, the 
condition of the countries in Africa within the torrid zone, the 
physical features of the country, the sources, the courses and 
the termination of the great rivers which flow therein, the pro- 
ductions of the soil, the capabilities of the country, and the 
moral and social condition of her people, and other matters 
illustrative of her trade and commerce and productions ; what 
these have been, what they are, and to what, under proper direc- 
tions and impulse given to the energies of Africa herself, these 
may, by judicious proceedings, be brought. 



THE GREAT DESERT. 

The first point for consideration is the Great Desert, the 
invincible barrier of central Africa to the north, and the all 
but impassable barrier between her and the more civilized 
nations of the world. Mount Atlas rises as a rampart against 
the encroachments of this desert to the north. The mountain, 
or rather this great chain of mountains, which run, it may be 
said, in a general bearing from N.E. by E. to S.W. by W. 
from Cape Bon, on the Mediterranean, to Cape Nun, on the 
Atlantic Ocean, are in the more southern and western parts 
greatly elevated, so much so as to be, to the eastward of the 
capital of Morocco, perpetually covered with snow. From 



THE GREAT DESERT. 



7 



this chain there descends, S.W. and S.E., several streams, 
which speedily, and at the distance of 100 to 150 miles, 
approach the limits of vegetation, and are absorbed in the 
sands of the desert. The Draha alone has a course of about 
200 miles, and is finally absorbed in the sands of the Zahara 
to the E.N.E. of Tatta. From these points on the west, in 
about 28° N. lat., to the limits of Soudan, south, a distance of 
nearly 700 geographical miles; and from the Atlantic Ocean, 
it may be said, to the shores of the Red Sea, with the ex- 
ception of the bed of the river Nile, a distance of about 3,100 
geographical miles, the surface of Africa is covered with this 
desert, the eastern portion thereof, or Libyan Desert, being 
nearly 100 miles broader than the broadest part of the western 
division. The greater portion of this vast space is, generally 
speaking, one mass of bare rocky hills and scorching sands, 
" without," says Batouta, " water, bird, or tree," and without 
even the semblance of vegetation. Here and there, there is to 
be found scattered over it, but widely distant from each other, 
fertile spots, or wadays, or oases, having wells of good water, 
and a considerable portion of tropical African vegetation. 
The portion of the desert where these are most numerous, and 
nearest to each other, is that portion between the Mediterranean 
and Bornou and Kashna, through Fezzan and Agadez, and 
amongst the hills of Tibeste, and some parts to the north and 
to the south of Bilma, &c. The wells and fertile spots are 
more numerous in this division of the desert, and consequently 
the road is better frequented and safer than in any other caravan 
route from Soudan to the exterior or northern countries of 
Africa. This portion of the desert was best known to the 
Romans, whose early writers compared the appearance thereof 
to a leopard's skin. Fezzan, of which Mourzook is the 
capital, is a kind of oasis, about 200 miles square, where, 
amidst many barren wastes and bare ridges or hills, there is 
generally water and vegetation, although the former is fre- 
quently found deeply impregnated with salt. It was from this 
point that the Romans penetrated into central Soudan, and 
from this point that the hardy Arab, about the year of the 
Hegira 160, first penetrated into the same quarter. Superior 
as this route is to others, the accounts which will presently be 



8 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



given will show even its appalling dangers. South of Mour- 
zook, and eastward in the parallel of from 25° to 20° N. lat., 
the country is exceedingly rugged, and hilly, and barren ; and 
from the countries and places afterwards mentioned, situated 
N.E. from Lake Shad, to Egypt, we know jery little of the 
country ; a proof, it is conceived, that it is worse than in other 
parts, and consequently owing to this, and some other un- 
known causes, that it is considered or found to be impassable. 
To the westward of the meridians of Mourzook and Agadez, 
the desert becomes more cheerless and appalling, the watering 
places and the oasis are at a greater distance from each other, 
and in the latter, with the exception of Twat, the scanty vege- 
tation is even more scanty. The wells, in this portion of the 
desert, frequently become dry, which occasions, in such in- 
stances, to the caravans scenes of misery and horror which 
beggar all description. This western portion also is more 
sandy than the middle, and consequently is not only more sub- 
jected to the fearful simoon, but to furious tempests of wind 
which roll the sands before them like the billows of the agitated 
ocean, and which in a moment cover districts and bury whole 
caravans to rise no more. To such a degree of heat are the 
sands raised by the perpetual glow of, it may be said, a torrid 
sun, and to such a degree of fineness is the sand brought by 
perpetually shifting about, that the atmosphere becomes impreg- 
nated with it ; and to a great distance in the Atlantic ocean, 
westward of the African coast, ships find their sails, as it were, 
choked with it imperceptibly and insensibly. 

The destruction of human life in the journeys and in the 
attempted journeys across this desert is enormous. In 1805 
a whole caravan from Soudan for Morocco, consisting of 2,000 
persons and all their camels, were totally lost. In 1811 and 
1813, two whole caravans, between Augela and Waday, with 
but few exceptions, perished amidst indescribable misery. 
Sidi Hamed gives a fearful picture of the misery and the 
massacre which ensued in a caravan with which he travelled, 
when they came to the wells of Haherah and found them dry. 
At the same time both the caravans from Tripoli and Tunis- to 
Timbuctoo were wholly destroyed. Denham and Oudney 
give us a terrific picture of the ravages in caravans amidst 



THE GREAT DESERT. 



9 



these deserts, where so many perish from want and thirst. From 
the well of Omah to the wells of El Hammer inclusive, a dis- 
tance of 140 miles, they travelled amidst and over human 
skeletons, crushing at every step below the feet of the camels 
and horses (the camels eat the bones with avidity) many of 
them with the flesh so entire as to render the features, and 
the age, and the sex distinguishable. Around the wells of 
El Hammar in particular, the skeletons lay " in countless 
numbers." Lyon gives us a similar picture, so far as came 
under his review. But it is unnecessary here to dwell on 
these horrors at greater length. The following extracts from 
Park's and De Callie's travels will tend to give the reader a 
clearer idea of the nature and the terrors of the desert itself. 

" Ludamar has for its northern boundary the Great Desert or 
Sahara. From the best inquiries I could make, this vast ocean of 
sand, which occupies so large a space in Northern Africa, may be 
pronounced almost destitute of inhabitants ; except where the scanty 
vegetation, which appears in certain spots, affords pasturage for the 
flocks of a few miserable Arabs, who wander from one well to an- 
other. In other places, where the supply of water and pasturage 
is more abundant, small parties of Moors have taken up their resi- 
dence. Here they live, in Independent poverty, secure from the 
tyrannical government of Barbary. But the greater part of the 
desert, being totally destitute of water, is seldom visited by any 
human being ; unless where the trading caravans trace out their 
toilsome and dangerous route across it. In some parts of this 
extensive waste, the ground is covered with low stunted shrubs, 
which serve as land-marks for the caravans, and furnish the camels 
with a scanty forage. In other parts the disconsolate wanderer, 
wherever he turns, sees nothing around him but a vast interminable 
expanse of sand and sky, a gloomy and barren void, where the eye 
finds no particular object to rest upon, and the mind is filled 

with painful apprehensions of perishing with thirst Surrounded 

by this solitude, the traveller sees the dead bodies of birds that 
the violence of the wind has brought from happier regions ; and 
as he ruminates on the fearful length of his remaining passage, 
listens with horror to the voice of the driving blast, the only sound 
that interrupts the awful repose of the desert." 

" The wild animals which inhabit the melancholy regions are the 
antelope and the ostrich ; their swiftness of foot enabling them to 



10 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



reach the distant watering places. On the skirts of the desert, 
where water is more plentiful, are found lions, panthers, elephants, 
and wild boars. 

" Of domestic animals, the only one that can endure the fatigue 
of crossing the desert is the camel. By the particular conformation 
of the stomach he is enabled to carry a supply of water sufficient 
for ten or twelve days ; his broad and yielding foot is well adapted 
to a sandy country ; and, by a singular motion of his upper lip, he 
picks the smallest leaves from the thorny shrubs of the desert as he 
passes along. The camel is, therefore, the only beast of burden 
employed by the trading caravans, which traverse the desert in 
different directions, from Barbary to Nigritia." — Park's Travels, 
Vol. I. p. 155. 

" A boundless horizon was already expanded before us, and we 
could distinguish nothing but an immense plain of shining sand, 
and over it a burning sky. At this sight the camels uttered long 
moans, the slaves became sullen and silent ; with their eyes turned 
towards heaven, they appeared to be tortured with regret for the 
loss of their country, and with the recollection of the verdant plains 
from which avarice and cruelty had snatched them." — CailWs 
Travels, Vol. II. p. 107. 

(i Our situation was still the same ; the east wind blew with 
violence ; and far from affording us any refreshment, it only threat- 
ened to bury us under the mountains of sand which it raised ; and 
what was still more alarming, our water diminished rapidly from 
the extreme drought which it occasioned. Nobody suffered more 
intensely from the thirst than the poor little slaves, who were crying 
for water. Exhausted by their sufferings and their lamentations, 
these unhappy creatures fell on the ground, and seemed to have no 
power to rise ; but the Moors did not suffer them to continue there 
long when travelling. Insensible to the sufferings which childhood 
is so little fitted to support, these barbarians dragged them along 
with violence, beating them incessantly, till they had overtaken the 
camels, which were already at a distance." — CailWs Travels, 
Vol. II. p. 114, 

" What distressed us most during this horrible day was the pillars 
of sand, which threatened every moment to bury us in their course. 
One of the largest of these pillars, crossing our camp, overset all 
the tents, and, whirling us about like straws, threw us one upon an- 
other in the utmost confusion ; we knew not where we were, and 
could distinguish nothing at the distance of a foot. The sand 



THE GREAT DESERT. 



I I 



wrapped us in darkness like a thick fog, and heaven and earth 
seemed confounded and blended into one. 

M In this commotion of nature, the consternation was general ; 
nothing was heard on all sides but lamentations, and most of my 
companions recommended themselves to heaven, crying with all 
their might, " There is no god but God, and Mahomet is his pro- 
phet!" Through these shouts and prayers, and the roaring of the 
wind, I could distinguish at intervals the low plaintive moan of the 
camels, who were as much alarmed as their masters, and more to be 
pitied, as they had not tasted food for four days. Whilst this fright- 
ful tempest lasted we remained stretched on the ground, motionless, 
dying of thirst, burned by the heat of the sand, and buffeted by the 
wind. We suffered nothing however from the sun, whose disk, 
almost concealed by the cloud of sand, appeared dim and shorn of 
its beams. We durst not use our water, for fear the wells should 
be dry, and I know not what would have become of us if, about 
three o'clock, the wind had not abated.'' — Cailles Travels, Vol. II. 
pp. 114, 115. 

" Near the wells of Omah, numbers of human skeletons, or parts 
of skeletons, lay scattered on the sands. Hillman, who suffered 
dreadfully since leaving Tegerby, was greatly shocked at the 
whitened skulls and unhallowed remains ; so much so as to want 
all the encouragement I could administer to him." — Denham's 
Travels, p. 7. 

" The depth of the well at Meshroo is from 16 to 20 feet ; the 
water good, and free from saline impregnations : the ground around 
is strewed with human skeletons — the slaves who have died exhausted 
with thirst and fatigue. The horrid consequences of the slave-trade 
were strongly brought to our mind, and although its horrors are not 
equal to those of the European trade, still they are sufficient to call 
up every sympathy, and rouse up every spark of humanity. They 
are dragged over deserts ; water often fails, and provisions scarcely 
provided for the long and dreary journey. The Moors ascribe the 
numbers to the cruelty of the Tibboo traders : there is, perhaps, too 
much truth in the accusation. Every few miles a skeleton was seen 
through the whole day ; some were partially covered with sand, 
others with only a small mound formed by the wind : one hand often 
lay under the head, and frequently both, as if in the act of com- 
pressing the head. The skin and membranous substance all shrivelled 
up, and dry from the state of the air ; the thick muscular and 
internal parts only decay." — Ibid, p. 8. 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



" About sunset we halted near a well within half a mile of Mesh- 
roo. Round this spot were lying more than 100 skeletons, some of 
them with the skin still remaining attached to the bones — not even 
a little sand thrown over them. The Arabs laughed heartily at my 
expression of horror, and said, ' they were only blacks, — nam boo !\ 
(damn their fathers) and began knocking about the limbs with the 
butt end of their firelocks, saying, 1 This was a woman ! — This was 
a youngster ! ' and such like unfeeling expressions. The greater part 
of the unhappy people, of whom these were the remains, had formed 
the spoils of the sultan of Fezzan the year before. I was assured 
that they had left Bornou with not above a quarter's allowance for 
each ; and that more died from want than fatigue : they were marched 
off with chains round their necks and legs : — the most robust only 
arrived in Fezzan in a very debilitated state, and were there fattened 
for the Tripoli slave market.] 

"Our camels did not come up until it was quite dads, and we 
bivouacked in the midst of these unearthed remains of the victims of 
persecution and avarice, after a long day's journey of 26 miles, in 
the course of which one of our party counted 107 of these skeletons." 
— Denham's Travels, pp. 9, 10. 

" El Wahr. The surface sandy till we approached the hills, then 
it changed to stony. The black hills, with cones, peaks, and a 
columnar-looking cap, ( reminded us of what we had seen before. 
The gloom of these places in the dusk has something grand and 
awful. We winded up, with the light of a moon not a quarter old, 
and that lessened by a cloudy sky, some sandy and pebbly beds, 
as of a stream, and in one place high clayey banks, with iron ore 
underneath. Skeletons lay about, mingled in a shocking manner ; 
here a leg, there an arm, fixed with their ligaments, at considerable 
distances from the trunk. What could have done this ? Man forced 
by hunger, or the camels ? The latter are very fond of chewing dried 
bones, but whether they ever do so to those with dried flesh on them 
I cannot say. — Ibid. p. 10. 

" One of the skeletons we passed to-day had a very fresh appear- 
ance ; the beard was still hanging to the skin of the face, and the 
features were still discernible. A merchant, travelling with the 
kafila, suddenly exclaimed, • That was my slave ! I left him behind 
four months ago, near this spot.' i Make haste ! take him to the 
fsug' (market), said an Arab wag, 'for fear anybody else should 
claim him.' We had no water, and a most fatiguing day." — Den- 
ham's Travels, p. 1 1 . 



THE GREAT DESERT. 



13 



u We moved before daylight, passing some rough sand hills 
mixed with red-stone, to the west, over a plain of fine gravel, and 
halted at the maten, called El-Hammar, close under a bluff-head, 
which had been in view since quitting our encampment in the morn- 
ing. Strict orders had been given this day for the camels to close 
up, and for the Arabs not to straggle — the Tibboo Arabs having 
been seen on the look out. During the last two days, we had 
passed on an average from sixty to eighty or ninety skeletons each 
day ; but the numbers that lay about the wells at El-Hammar were 
countless : those of two women, whose perfect and regular teeth 
bespoke them young, were particularly shocking ; their arms still 
remained clasped round each other as they had expired : although 
the flesh had long since perished by being exposed to the burning 
. rays of the sun, and the blackened bones only left ; the nails of the 
fingers, and some of the sinews of the hand, also remained ; and 
part of the tongue of one of them still appeared through the teeth. 
We had now passed six days of desert without the slightest appear- 
ance of vegetation, and a little branch of the sonah was brought me 
here as a comfort and curiosity. On the following day we had alter- 
nately plains of sand and lose gravel, and had a distant view of 
some hills to the west. While I was dozing on my horse about 
noon, overcome by the heat of the sun, which at that time of the 
day shone with great power, I was suddenly awakened by a crash- 
ing under his feet, which startled me excessively. I found that my 
steed had, without any sensation of shame or alarm, stepped upon 
the perfect skeleton of two human beings, cracking their brittle 
bones under his feet, and, by one trip of his foot, separating a skull 
from the trunk, which rolled on like a ball before him. This event 
gave me a sensation which it took some time to remove. My horse 
was for many days not looked upon with the same regard as for- 
merly." — Denham's Travels, pp. 12, 13. 

The boundary north of this extraordinary scene of desolation, 
unknown in any other quarter of the world, is from near Cape 
Nun on the Atlantic, in a line running nearly E.N.E. to the 
Mediterranean, to the south of Tripoli, where the coast of Africa 
stretches away to the eastward by the Syrtes and Desert of 
Barca ; and on the south from the Atlantic in lat. 19° N. to the 
southward of Cape Blanco, the line advancing N. in the meri- 
dian of Agadez to perhaps 20° N. lat., and thence declining 
southerly as it approaches the meridian of Lake Shad, to 
about 17° N. lat., and continuing in the same parallel from 



14 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



thence to the banks of the Nile, and, in fact, it may be said to 
the shores of the Red Sea. This is its general bearing, but 
the line to the west of Timbuctoo descends a little to the south- 
ward. {See Map.) 

This desert is traversed in various directions, by numerous 
routes, by the trading caravans, the chief of which have been 
marked out on the Map, which consequently venders further 
reference unnecessary. The routes are laid down straight or 
direct from place to place, but the caravans in several instances 
deviate from these routes, according as trading towns lay nearly 
in their way ; and where these deviations take place, the distance 
more or less on the general line, according to the distance mea- 
sured by a day's journey of the customary length, will readily 
appear. The routes in the western division of the desert 
require, however, particular notice. From Timbuctoo, &c. to 
Morocco, there are several. One goes from Wednoon near 
the shores of the Atlantic, southward as far as Cape Merik and 
the river St. John's, from which point the caravans strike off 
nearly due east along by the boundary of the desert to Tim- 
buctoo, branching off as may be from Tisheet to Benowm. 
Another route goes from Wednoon, for a long distance, close 
to the Atlantic, and then proceeding south, it comes to Western 
Tegazza, which is six days' journey east of Hoden, which is 
again six or seven days' journey east of Arguin. From Western 
Tegazza to Timbuctoo is a journey of 40, some say 44 days. There 
is another place named Tegazza (eastern), which lays, according 
to Jackson, 16 days S.E. of Akkah, and, according to Batouta, 
25 days' journey south of Segelmessa, and in the road from 
Akkah to Timbuctoo by Taudenny. According to De Caille, 
this Tegazza is seven days' journey N.W. of Taudenny. Not 
distinguishing these two places, namely, Western Tegazza from 
Eastern Tegazza, has led into several errors and doubts 
regarding the routes alluded to, and also to the geography of 
this portion of Africa. 

Gualata, according to Leo, is 300 Arabic miles from Cape 
Nun and 500 from Timbuctoo, in the direct line from the 
former place to the latter city. This will place Gualata (centre 
thereof) in 24 40' N. lat. and 8° W. long., 130 miles N.W. of 
Amool Gragim of Arrowsmith's map, and also of the Map 
accompanying this work. Sidi Hamed, in his second journey, 



V 



ARABIAN DIVISIONS OF AFRICA. 



15 



enables us to fix with tolerable accuracy the wells of Haherah. 
When the caravan with which he was travelling reached tnem, 
they were found dry, and which in consequence occasioned much 
bloodshed and misery. They set out from Wednoon in the 
direct course for Timbuctoo, travelled first six days south round 
the great Atlas, then entered the desert, travelling fifteen days 
south-easterly, the surface baked so hard and smooth that the 
camels could not make a track on it. At the end of this time they 
reached a fine deep valley with twenty wells in it, six of which 
had water ; travelled thence three days first through hard sand, 
next sand as fine as dust and as hot as coals ; travelled six days 
among this sand, when the hot wind began to blow, which occa- 
sioned a great loss of men and camels ; pushed on as fast as 
they could through the dry, deep, hot sand, without meeting or 
seeing one green thing, when they reached the wells of Haherah, 
all of which they found dry, no rain having fallen there for one 
year. The distance will place Haherah, after proper allowance 
for the worst 24 days, in 19° N. lat. and 6 30' W. long. From 
this fatal spot they, in order to reach a place called Teshla, 
(certainly the Tashala of Batouta) journeyed 12 days S.W., 
here and there meeting with a hollow with a few prickly shrubs, 
when they were overtaken by a dreadful tempest of thunder, 
lightning, and rain, which supplied them with abundance of 
water. From this point they steered south to the borders of 
the desert ; then to cultivated land ; then south to a little river 
of fresh water, and soon after reached Wablet or Walet. 



ARABIAN DIVISIONS OF AFRICA. 

Leaving the Zahaara, or desert, we come to the other great 
divisions of Africa, as known to the Arabian writers and geo- 
graphers, ancient and modern. Without considering and knowing 
these, we cannot understand or elucidate the geography of 
interior Africa ; and to the want of which knowledge, together 
with the want of attention to this part of the subject, is to be 
attributed most of the errors prevalent, regarding the true geo- 
graphical features of Africa. The early Arabian geographers and 
writers, such as Edrisi, distinguished Africa, or rather Central 
Africa, to the south of the desert, by the name of Belad-el 



16 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Sudan,* or the country of the Blacks, from the Arabic word, 
te ass wad," black. To the south thereof, on the east, lay in- 
terior Ethiopia ; and to the west of the portion then known, 
those infidel countries, of which they had scarcely any know- 
ledge, either of their position or extent, except from very vague 
and indefinite information. The Joliba, or true Niger, and all 
the western rivers, such as the Senegal, &c, which flow into 
the Atlantic, were either wholly unknown, or but imperfectly 
known to Edrisi. His knowledge, and the knowledge of his 
immediate successors, seem to have been confined to the eastern 
rivers of Ptolemy, or to what they more particularly denomi- 
nated the Land of Kanem, and the Land of Ghana. Subse- 
quently, when the more western parts of Africa became known 
to the eastern Arabian writers, after the conquests in that quar- 
ter by their brethren from Morocco ; Northern Africa, south of 
the desert, was divided into three great divisions ; viz. First, 
the Land of Kanem, which extended from the boundary of 
Nuba, or Nubia, near Dongola, on the east, to the Lake Shad, 
including perhaps that lake on the west ; and north to south, 
from the confines of Barca and Zeilah, north, to the utmost 
limits of the modern Bagharme, south. Secondly, the Land of 
Ghana, which extended from Lake Shad on the east to the 
borders of the Niger on the west, and from the Great Desert 
on the north to Lamlem and Meczara, twelve days' journey to 
the south, where the Land of Ghana was bounded by infidel 
countries. Interior Ethiopia is that portion of Africa now de- 
nominated by the Arabs of Africa Soudan Dakhlata. Thirdly, 
the great division named Melli, or Maly, which extended from 
the Land of Ghana, on the east, to Damloo, containing all the 
countries situated on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean on the 
west, and from the borders of the desert to the countries reach- 
ing to the range of hills generally known as the Kong range 
on the south. In this great portion of Africa, and the first 
place of importance below Timbuctoo, was situated, according 
to Batouta, the city of Kuku, or Kawkaw (the modern Ghow), 

* The African Mahommedans know and admit this in conversation, but they 
reject it in their geography, and confine their term Sudan from Bornou to Bam- 
bara inclusive, from E. to W., and N. to S. from the desert to the Atlantic, 
South of Bornou they further have Sudan Dakhlata. — Dupuis. 



ARABIAN DIVISIONS OF AFRICA. 



17 



then, according to him, one of the finest cities in Soudan. 
This Kuku, or Kawkaw, in the Land of Maly, is a very different 
place from either the Kuku, or the Kawkaw, or the Cauga of 
Edrisi, situated in the Land of Kanem ; which land of Kanem, 
Macrisi explicitly tells us, was at " a very great distance from 
the Land of Maly," the distance generally estimated being 
three months' journey. Such, it appears, from Abulfeda, were 
the great districts into which Central Africa, to the south of the 
Great Desert, was divided in his days, and to which divisions 
opportunities may hereafter occur to require special reference. 

The next and most important points to attend to are the 
names and the nature of the divisions into which the Mahom- 
medan nations which now inhabit, and the descendants of 
those Mahommedans who have for many centuries inhabited 
Central Africa, divide that quarter of the world from the 
desert on the north to Benin and the Atlantic on the south ; 
and from Darfur on the east to the State of Damloo, and even 
including the most part of that country on the mouths of the 
Rio Grande, the Gambia, and the Senegal on the west. In 
these we find one important term Tokrur or Takr6ur\ the 
ignorance regarding the meaning of which has created much 
confusion in African geography. The term is very fully 
explained, and that too by a competent hand, Sultan Bello, in 
his Geographical Memoir, or Survey of Africa (see Appendix, 
Denham's Travels, &c. p. 158). The true word is TaJcrour, 
and this appellation comprehends, or is used to designate, the 
centre of Northern Central Africa, or the middle portion of 
what is technically called Soudan, from Darfur to the mouth 
of the Gambia inclusive. In it is included the following great 
divisions : — Darfur, Waday, Bagherme, Bornou, Adamowa, 
Haoussa, Zegzeg, Nafra, Kornorfa, Jacoba, Gourmon, Mou- 
shee, Sanghee, Bambara, Melli, Tourooth, Foota, and Dam- 
loo, on the coasts of the Atlantic, where Christians come in 
ships to trade, as they also do to a port on the ocean, in Melli. 
Besides these, there are several other minor states, as noted 
in the Map, and which will be more specifically alluded to 
hereafter. 

Another division, as regards the geography of Africa, is of 
still greater importance, that is Wangara. No word or term 

c 



18 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



in modern days ever occasioned so many errors in African 
geography as this word. It was, and is confounded with the 
province now known under the name Oonghor, or Oongooroo, 
or Ungura, the Guangara of Leo and Owencara of some 
Arabian writers, situated to the north-east and east of Ghana 
or Kano, but with which it has no connexion, and from which 
this modern Wangara is far distant. Wangara being, however, 
fixed in the point mentioned, was made the point where the 
Niger was stated to terminate, about the place where we now 
find Lake Shad. In Wangara the Niger does indeed terminate, 
but then modern Wangara is not the same as Owencara or 
Vancara, mentioned by Edrisi, nor is it situated in the same 
portion of Africa. The term, as regards the space which now 
bears the name, was in fact unknown to the Arabian geo- 
graphers, and is chiefly used by the Mahommedan population, 
who now dwell on the Niger, and in the countries to the south 
of that river, particularly by those who inhabit Dagomba, 
Kong, and Mandingo. In its most comprehensive meaning 
it designates all Central Africa from the desert south, or the 
cultivated and inhabited country, through which rivers flow, 
and, in its restricted and specific meaning, all those countries 
from Gaman on the west, to Biafra on the east, and from 
Dagomba, and the neighbouring states north, to the Atlantic 
Ocean on the south. The following extracts from Dupuis 
will set this matter completely at rest, even if these were 
unsupported by other authority. Page xxv. he says — " It is 
an undoubted fact, authenticated by the testimony of every 
Moslem in Coomassie, that Wangara or Wankara is a mighty 
district, spreading over all that tract of land from Gaman 
Inclusive, or the Madingo states of Enkasse and Ghombate in 
the west to Kimbee and Ajeeasie on the east, and from the 
north to the south from Ghofan and Tonouma down to the 
margin of the Atlantic Ocean." Continuing the subject, he 
ays (pages xlii. and xliii.), that he inquired particularly of 
Bashaw Mahommed, a native of Gamba, a man who had tra- 
velled over almost all Northern Africa, very intelligent and far 
advanced in years, if there was such a place as Wangara, and 
where it was situated. The reply was, " Wangara is a large 
place, it is not a kingdom, neither is it a city ; but it contains 



ARABIAN DIVISIONS OF AFRICA. 



19 



many kingdoms and many cities ; the ground you now tread 
on is Wangara." Betraying surprise and doubt at the statement 
made, M. Dupuis was farther answered, " Can you doubt what 
I tell you V replied the chief ; " if you do, inquire at our people 
whether I do not speak what is true." More than half a dozen 
voices confirmed the statement " in terms the most positive 
and convincing." " There is no doubt about it, and God knows 
it is true," was the expression of every Mussulman present. 
In course of subsequent and repeated conversations on this 
curious point, the replies and statements were uniform. 
" This is Wangara, and we believe there is no other country 
of that name on our side of the Great Desert ; but if there is, 
we never heard mention of it, and therefore it must be a very 
small place." — " The rivers of Wangara are numerous ; they 
are such as we have already described, running into the great 
salt sea of Benin, and from whence you come Cape Coast. 
The greatest river of Wangara runs south behind Dahomy 
direct to Warree, and is fifteen long journeys to the east of 
Abomey," &c. But this is not all : Leo Africanus tells us, 
that to reach this country travellers had to cross high moun- 
tains. Ritchie (see Quarterly Review, May 1820) was told 
that it was a great district in Southern Africa, and that it lay 
twenty-five journeys to the south of Timbuctoo. Denham was 
informed, that Wangara meant all the country south of Tim- 
buctoo and Haoussa, containing mountains and rivers, stretch- 
ing to the gulph of Guinea. Hutchison was told at Coomassie 
(see Bowditch, p. 206) the same thing. He is very pointed in 
this matter. " Wangara is the name of a region comprehend- 
ing Kong, Moosee, and other neighbouring countries south of 
the Niger (if not some to the north of it) ; but Oongooroois the 
name of the country laying between Kashna and Bornou." 
(Bowditch, 206.) Ritchie was farther told, that much of the 
gold that came to Timbuctoo came from that quarter. This 
we also learn from other and disconnected authorities, and 
we shall by-and-by see the particular places, such as Gaman, 
&c, which furnish it. 

According to the curious and important information regard- 
ing the countries of Central and Western Africa, which Mr* 
Dupuis received at Coomassie, he further informs us, respecting 

c 2 



20 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the great division into which the Mahommedans of Western 
Africa at present divide it, that Ghunjah includes the whole of 
Ashantee, exclusive of Gaman on the west and Banna on the 
north, or N.E.: Salgha, or Salagha, is the capital of Ghunjah 
Proper. The portion of Africa in its immediate neighbourhood, 
and including Yahndi, is also sometimes denominated Inta, or 
Intasi (see Bowditch). Salgha is said to be twice the size of 
Coomassie, and the Rio Volta there is as broad as the Thames 
at Battersea - bridge. Sarem includes Gaman, and all the 
country from Cape Palmas in a semicircular direction towards 
the N.E. to Kong and Enkasse, where it meets the S.W. limits 
of Dagomba. This last-named division is a very great district 
in southern Central Africa, separating Ghunjah from Bambara 
and Fillany on the W., N.W. and N. ; and Sarem from Killinga 
or Borghoo and Yarribah on the E. and S.E. It is well cultivated 
and highly populous, and chiefly a champaign country. Yahndi is 
the capital of Dagomba Proper. It is a town much larger than 
either Coomassie or Salgha. Horses and cattle are exceedingly 
numerous in this great district, and very large flocks of sheep are 
owned by even the lower classes of the population. Dagomba 
is bounded S. and S.W. by Ghunjah and Sarem, S.E. and E. 
by Killinga and Haoussa ; N. by Fillany, and W. by Melli and 
Bambara. Haoussa, one of the largest districts, is bounded E. 
by Bornou and Yacoba, and S.E. and S. by Soudan-Dakhlata, 
Benin, and Dahomy, S. by Dagomba, and W. by Fillany, and 
N.W. and N. by Marroa and the Desert. Marroa is another 
great division. It is bounded E. by Haoussa, N. by the 
Desert, W. by Fillany, which latter includes Ghou, and thence 
S. by the Niger eastward to Haoussa. Fillany is another 
very great and important district. It is bounded S.E. by Ha- 
oussa, N. by the Niger to the environs of Ghou, thence E. by 
Marroa, till it reaches the Desert to the N. ; thence N. by the 
Desert, W. by Beeroo, and S.W. and S. by Massina, Bambara, 
and Dagomba, embracing both banks of the Joliba from below 
Ghou on the E. to Lake Dibbie inclusive on the W. and S.W. 
Bambara is another great division of Africa, comprehending in 
its modern limits part of the country of Melli. It is bounded 
on the N. by Fillany and Massina and the Great Desert, and 
N.W. by Beeroo and Ludamar, and W. by Kaarta and the 



GUINEA. — RIO VOLT A. 



21 



Foulah country, and on the S. by Melli, and S.E. by part of 
Dagomba. Melli, or, as it is called, Maly, is bounded E. by 
Dagomba, S.E. by Sarem, S. and S.W. by Sarem and Ga- 
nowa; W. by Damloo and the Atlantic about the mouths of 
the Rio Grande, &c. ; N. by the Foulah country and Bam- 
bara, and part of Fillany. It is an immense district in Africa, 
and comprehends the whole country inhabited by the Mandin- 
goes, stretching from the Niger in its middle course about 150 
miles below Timbuctoo, south-westerly to the iVtlantic Ocean. 
This was its extent in the early ages of Arabian conquest and 
Arabian geography ; and at the time (1352) that Batouta, and 
subsequently at the time that Cadamosto, and other early 
European navigators, first visited the western and south-west- 
ern coasts of Africa. 

These great divisions are again subdivided into numerous 
kingdoms, states, and provinces, more or less powerful and 
extensive, and which will frequently be referred to in the sequel 
of this inquiry. A general knowledge of these important 
divisions clears up much of the confusion which has hitherto 
existed in the geography of Northern Central Africa, or Soudan, 
and will enable the reader to see his way clearly, and judge of 
the general accuracy of the Map which accompanies this work, 
and which has been, with a vast labour and painful research, 
constructed for the purpose. 

GUINEA. THE PEPPER AND IVORY COASTS. 

Having thus, as briefly as possible, adverted to the great 
geographical divisions of Africa, as known to and made by both 
the Asiatic Arabs and the African Moors and Arabs, both in 
ancient and in modern times, it is time to turn to the more minute 
geographical details of Africa, and those countries in Africa 
situated to the southward of the Great Desert and of the 
ancient kingdom of Egypt. To make these details more clear, 
and the situation of Central Soudan and the courses of the 
great rivers that flow through it (the chief object of the present 
inquiry) more apparent, it will be best to commence with the 
countries and districts on the south and south-west, bordering 
on the Atlantic Ocean, and adjoining those very mountainous 



22 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

districts which give birth to the great rivers of Western Africa, 
and especially the mighty Niger and all its tributary streams, 
until we come to its most eastern and southern course. The 
first in order will be that portion of Africa known to Europeans 
under the general name of the Coast of Guinea. 

The first river of importance in this district of Africa, and 
which may be said to bound it on the east and north-east, is the 
Rio Volta. This river rises in the great range of mountains 
called Jibbel Sargha, situated in 9° 80' N. lat. and 1° W. 
long*, flowing first past Salgha, where its breadth is about the 
width of the Thames at Battersea-bridge, and afterwards by 
Odonte, where there is a ferry ; it runs into the Atlantic a little 
to the westward of Cape St. Paul, in a wide and rapid stream. 
From the rapidity of its course, the Portuguese gave it the 
name which it bears. It is a fine wide river, discharging its 
waters so violently into the sea, that the current is sometimes 
visible three or four miles from the shore. The force of the 
stream, meeting the swell of the Atlantic, which runs here 
with great force, occasions such an agitation or burning of the 
waters, that it is at all times dangerous to attempt the passage. 
During the rainy season it is generally impracticable. The 
soil around the banks of the river is very fine, and on it grow 
innumerable lofty trees, producing very fine timber, particu- 
larly teak-wood. A short distance upward from its mouth 
there is an island of considerable size, formed by the mud 
which has been brought down by the stream ; and, at times, 
floating islands are borne along on its surface. 

Westward from the Rio Volta, and from that river to the 
Rio Nunez, inclusive, a great number of rivers enter the 
Atlantic, but none of them are of any great magnitude or 
importance. The largest is the Assinee, in the east, and the 
Rokelle, or Sierra Leone river, on the west. But the course 
of neither of these is much more than two hundred geographical 
miles, and both are only navigable for small vessels, for a short 
distance from their mouths. The whole of the rivers in this 
portion of Africa spring from that elevated range which extends 
from the Jibbel Sargha, S. by W. and W., along by the sources 
of the Niger and the southern boundary of the early course of 
that stream to the neighbourhood of Teemboo. 



PEPPER AND IVORY COASTS. 



23 



All this portion of Africa is exceedingly mountainous ; the 
hills approaching near the coast, and thence rising rapidly in 
elevation as the interior is approached. The country also is 
amost in every part known to be very populous ; and from the 
Camaranca on the west, to Cape Lahou river on the east, to be 
generally well-cultivated. The soil, in almost every place, is 
good, and very productive of all the necessaries of life, known 
in, or suitable for tropical climates. 

From the Kamaranca river to the Assinee river, a dozen of 
rivers, besides several small streams, enter the Atlantic Ocean 
in the coast just mentioned ; but none of these are of any 
considerable magnitude, or equal to the Rokelle, " the river of 
Sierra Leone," a proof that, in comparison with the rivers in 
the interior and in other parts of the coasts of Africa, they are 
mere mountain torrents ; that the courses are not, and cannot 
be long, and further, that betwixt the great eastern branch of 
the Niger, called the Ahmar, and the Atlantic Ocean from the 
Assinee east, to the Camaranca west, there is abundance of 
room left to form and to supply every one of the rivers in that 
portion of Africa at present under consideration. All this 
portion of Africa is exceedingly mountainous, the hills ap- 
proaching near the coast, and from thence rising rapidly in 
elevation, as the interior is approached. The country also 
almost in every part is known to be very populous, and from 
the Camaranca on the west, to Cape Lahou river on the 
east, . to be in general greatly superior to the country 
from Cape Lahou to the Rio Volta. From the Camaranca, 
the rivers in their respective courses are found first to run 
from east to west, thence their courses incline from south-east 
to south-west, from the ridge of which, Cape Palmas is the 
termination. Beyond that cape, their general course is from 
north-west to south-east, unto the river Assinee, the general 
course of which is from north to south, through the territories 
of Ashantee, although its principal springs, in their upper 
course, descend from the north-east, as the courses of the 
more eastern rivers of Ashantee do. Beyond Cape Coast 
Castle, where a ridge descends from the high chain of the 
Jibbel Sargha, the rivers, along to the Rio Volta inclusive, 
incline in courses from north-west to south-east. 



24 



GEOGRAPHICAL 



SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



The springs and courses of these rivers, carefully considered 
and attended to, disclose the great natural features of this 
portion of Africa, and enable us more clearly and particularly 
to judge of and to estimate her internal capabilities. 

The rivers also in that part of the coast of Africa under our 
immediate consideration are proven to have short courses, by 
the fact of their sudden rise and fail during the tropical rains, 
by the comparative fulness of some of their streams in the rainy 
and the dry seasons, by the fact that their courses are all rapid 
and rocky, that there are no bars of mud in the mouths of any of 
them, and hardly any safe anchorage in any part of that coast. 
The names of the chief of these rivers, extending from the 
Kamaranca eastward, are the Bagoo, the Gallinas, the Cape 
Mount, the Half Cape Mount, which is said to be the largest 
of the whole, the St. Paul's, the St. John's, and Junk rivers, 
the line of the bed of the former bearing N. 30° E., and of the 
latter N.E. ; they flow from one parent stream, at the distance of 
seventy to eighty miles from the sea. The Junk is rocky and 
scarcely navigable for small vessels. The country between their 
mouths extends twenty-seven miles, and is called Little Bassa, 
(see Jo-urn. Geo. Soc. Paris, Nos. 67, 68, p. 99) ; then the Sesters, 
the Escragos, and, passing Cape Palmas, the Cavally, the St. 
Andrew's, and the Cape Lahou. The kingdom ©f Cape Mount 
is bounded by the river Gallinas on the north, and by Grand 
Bassam on the east or south-east; it extends inland about 
eighty miles, and to the north is bounded by a country called 
Conchy or Cotcha. The capital Couseca is two days' journey 
by water up the river, and is said to contain 20,000 inhabit- 
ants. The river at Half Cape Mount has fourteen feet water 
at the entrance, with shifting bars, composed of sand. This 
river is navigable to a greater distance into the interior than 
any of the others, and, from its local position, may be made 
a place of considerable commercial importance. At Cape 
Mesurado there is a good landing place for boats, a conveni- 
ence found nowhere else between that point and Cape 
Palmas. The river at Cape Mesurado is shallow, and of little 
commercial value. St. John's river is navigable for small craft. 
Cape Mount is well-calculated for agricultural purposes, be- 
cause the land is diversified with elevated plains, and is all 



LIBERIA.— KROOMEN. 



25 



well watered. The Sesters is narrow, and the entrance difficult, 
but it is navigable for a short distance. The people on this part of 
the coast, and in the kingdom of Senguin, pay tribute to Soko. 

In this portion of the coast is situated the new American 
settlement or colony, named Liberia. It has been begun and 
settled by a considerable number of free blacks from the 
United States, who, finding themselves living in these states 
in a degraded and dependent state, without any chance of 
rising in society, have been induced by their own feelings and 
spirit, aided by advice and pecuniary assistance from the Coloni- 
zation Society established in those states, to place themselves 
in Africa. These colonists are yearly becoming more nume- 
rous. Their principal settlement is Monronia, situated on the 
banks of the Mesurado river ; but they claim as American the 
coast from Cape Mount River to Cape Palmas, a distance of 
800 miles. Themselves and their patrons in America speak 
highly of their prosperity and prospects, and of the good they 
are accomplishing in Africa; while others, amongst which is 
Mr. Macgregor Laird, give a more disheartening account of 
their condition and prospects. Truth may be said to lay be- 
tween these different accounts. Such a settlement, by people 
with little or no capital, and in a country where produce for 
exportation and commerce are to create, and where there are 
no roads and no navigable rivers, must have many difficulties 
to encounter and to overcome. Nevertheless, by energy and 
perseverance, they may do much good in Africa, both to them- 
selves and to the native population, with which they have as 
yet lived in peace and amity. The soil is fruitful, the climate 
better than on most other parts of the coast, and the population 
inland quiet and inoffensive, and more inclined to industry 
than in other portions of the African coast. Still the position 
chosen for this new colonization scheme is a great drawback 
to its advance and prosperity, and must, in fact, prevent it from 
ever becoming a civilized settlement of the first-rate importance. 

Eastward on this part of the coast is the country of the 
Kroomen, so well known in all the recent notices regarding 
the African coast. These people never enslave each other, 
and readily engage in any description of labour, except con- 
tinuous and steady agricultural labour. The greater part of 



26 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



them can speak the English language. The principal part of 
all labour, more especially field labour, amongst these people, 
the same as amongst all other barbarous tribes, devolves upon 
the females : the males hire themselves out on every part of the 
coast where they can obtain the employment which they like, 
and afterwards expend the wages that they gain in purchasing 
for wives females of other countries, who are obliged to labour 
for them ; and when they have thus obtained twenty, thirty, 
forty, or more, according as their views may extend, they then 
settle in their native country, and live upon the produce of the 
labour of their wives, who are, in fact, their labourers, their 
slaves, and their property. The neighbourhood of the river 
Sesters produces vast quantities of rice, and it is here that the 
Spanish and the Portuguese slave ships purchase that article 
as the food for the slave cargoes which they intend to carry across 
the Atlantic. Cape Palmas has the only harbour which is to 
be found on the coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to Benin. 
It is spacious, secure, well sheltered, and protected from the 
swell of the ocean by a reef. The population is numerous, 
docile, and peaceable ; the soil good ; the production spon- 
taneous and numerous, amongst which is mellegette, pepper, 
and other aromatics. The necessaries of life may be procured 
here with very little labour. The situation of Cape Palmas, in 
every point of view, and especially as a naval and commercial 
place, may be rendered of great utility and importance. The 
natives around would readily go along with any European 
power in extending agricultural commerce. The entrance to 
the harbour, either from the east or from the west, is easy and 
safe, except in the case of tornados, during which, however, 
the wind never blows with a force sufficient to drive a vessel 
from a single anchor. These tornados also only blow for 
fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, and always afford notice of 
their approach. Amongst the strange customs known about 
Cape Palmas, one is, that the son inherits his father's wives, 
and thus his own mother becomes his property. They are all 
pagans, of the very lowest caste as to religious views and 
principles. The rains commence in May, and continue with 
violence till October. 

The town of Cavally, on the river of that name, about fifteen 



CAPE LAHOU. RIVER ASSINEE. 



27 



miles to the eastward of Cape Palmas, contains about 10,000 
inhabitants, and is a place of considerable trade for ivory, grains 
of paradise, beads, and red pepper. The river is navigable 
for small craft ; and in the month of May, after the commence- 
ment of the rains in the interior, immense numbers of dead 
fishes are brought down, which it is supposed are killed from 
the effect of the putrescent leaves and other vegetable matter 
accumulated in pools of the smaller branches of the river, into 
which the fish, as in other instances, had been obliged to confine 
themselves, owing to the decay of the water in these streams 
during the dry season. St. Andrew's river, to the eastward, is 
shallow during the dry weather part of the year, but brings 
down a vast body of water during the tropical rains. It was 
formerly a place of considerable trade. The inhabitants have 
little or no idea of any religion. In their manners and their 
pursuits they are much the same as the population about Cape 
Lahou and eastward to Apollonia. Cape Lahou is a place of 
considerable trade, and the population follow it with greater 
perseverance than the population of any other part of the coast. 
The river has nine feet water at the entrance, and the tide 
rises in it about six feet. The course of the river upwards is 
very circuitous. The character of the population about Cape 
Lahou is good, and they are further removed from a state of 
barbarism than any of their neighbours on the coast. Their 
lives are passed in comparative innocence. The traits of feel- 
ing and paternal affection which are witnessed amongst them 
would do honour to a civilized people. The inhabitants keep 
every sixth day sacred. 

The river Assinee is by far the largest in this southern 
portion of the coast of Africa, and formerly bounded the king- 
dom of Ashantee on the west. It may now, however, from the 
late conquests made by that formidable power, be said to flow 
through its dominions in the whole length of its course. This 
river, at its mouth, is broad but shallow ; the main course near 
the entrance is about 200 yards wide. Inland it has the ap- 
pearance of a lake with numerous little islands in it, which have 
been thrown up by the eddies. The country, in the interior, 
on the banks of the Assinee, as well as to the westward of the 
river, is delightful. The inhabitants are an industrious, a clever 



28 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



and economical people, and some of them are wealthy. They 
dress better, and keep themselves cleaner than any other natives 
on the coast. The females are always clean and well clothed, 
and the men treat them with kindness and respect. The soil 
is a red loam. The general appearance of the country is very 
fine, and in the vicinity of the towns and villages it is pretty 
well cultivated. They do not allow their priests to interfere 
with matters connected with trade or polity. 

ASHANTEE, OR WESTERN WANGARA. 

Passing the Assinee to the eastward, we come to the great 
kingdom of Ashantee, decidedly the most powerful and exten- 
sive country in all this portion of Africa. It is composed of a 
great number of smaller states, many of them of late conquered 
by its arms and subjected to its power. The works of Dupuis and 
Bowditch, the former in general the most accurate, are our chief 
geographical guides regarding this portion of Africa ; the one 
in some instances tends to elucidate and to correct the other ; 
and where the days' journeys of travellers are given in an atten- 
tive manner, the positions of places of note become known and 
settled with considerable accuracy. Coomassie is from tolerable 
data placed in 6° 32' N. lat., and 1° 23' W. long. From thence 
to Buntokoo, the capital of Gaman, is, according to Bowditch, 
eleven days' journey, (Dupuis has fewer,) but ten days' journey 
may be taken as the correct jiumber and distance. Eight geogra- 
phic miles per day, or eight and a half made good'each day on the 
general bearing, is, after much attentive examination and research 
into these matters, taken as the measure of a day's journey in 
mountainous, uncultivated, and wooden districts of southern 
Africa. At this rate, distant points have been ascertained and 
fixed ; at this rate they are found to correspond with a surprising 
accuracy. At this rate Buntokoo will be eighty-eight geographi- 
cal miles from Coomassie, on the bearing N.W. The river 
Offim is crossed on the second day, and the Tando on the fifth, 
in proceeding from Coomassie towards Buntokoo. 

The principal rivers of Ashantee Proper, are the Tando, 
which rises in rocky hills called Toofeea, near the town of 
Ainkroo, between the Banda and Inta paths, five days' journey, 



ASHANTEE, OR WESTERN WANGARA. 29 

or about fifty miles NN.E. from Coomassie, and enters the 
sea to the westward of Cape Three Points under the name of 
Ancobar, Rio Cobra, or the Serpentine-river, so called by the 
Portuguese from its extremely winding course for upwards of 
twenty miles inland from its mouth. Rice is cultivated along 
its banks to a great extent, and which grows here above all 
other places in incredible abundance. Its mouth is very wide 
but very shallow, scarcely admitting navigation by a boat ; but 
inwards it grows deeper and narrower. Its banks are as 
pleasant as any part of the Guinea Coast, not excepting Fidah 
itself. 

Each of its banks, says Bosman, is adorned with fine lofty 
trees, which afford the most agreeable shade in the world, de- 
fending the traveller from the scorching beams of the sun. It 
is not unpleasant to observe the beautiful variegated birds and 
the sportive apes diverting themselves on the verdant boughs 
all the way. To render it yet more charming, having sailed 
about a mile up, you are entertained with a view of a fine popu- 
lous village extending about a quarter of a mile on its western 
shore ; of such villages hereabout are a great number. The 
Offim, above mentioned, is a branch of the Tando. The next 
river of importance, is the Chamascian river, or Rio de St. Juan, 
called by the negroes Bossum Pra, which they adore as a god, 
(so the word Bossum signifies,) rises about seventy miles N.E. 
of Coomassie, on the eastern confines of the province of Akkeya, 
and enters the Atlantic about ten miles to the westward of Cape 
Coast Castle, It is rather less than the river Ancobar, but 
wide enough to admit boats laden coming into it from the sea, 
if the pilot be but so careful as to avoid a rock near its mouth, 
which the sailors call the Sugar. The river upward contains 
several islands adorned with fine towns and villages, but the in- 
habitants are described as a very barbarous race, and their chiefs 
very often particularly ferocious, drinking the blood of their 
enemies, and offering it to their gods in their savage sacrifices. 
This portion of the coast of Africa, extending eastward from 
the Camaranca river to the boundary of Ashantee, and the Rio 
Volta, forms what is technically called by Europeans, the Guinea 
Coast, but which name is wholly unknown, as Bosman informs 
us, to the natives of that portion of Africa. " Guinea," says 



30 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



he, " is a large country extending several hundred miles, abound- 
ing with innumerable kingdoms and several commonwealths ;" 
but he adds, " The very name of Guinea is not so much as 
known to the natives here, nor the imaginary Guinea monarchy 
yet to be found in the world." — Bosnian, p. 340. The name, 
in fact, was imposed upon it by Europeans, from what cause and 
for what reason is doubtful or unknown. It is, in fact, that part 
of the coast of Africa which is now comprehended under tjie 
Mahommedan African name of Wangara. This coast has always 
been found extremely fatal to Europeans. Bosman gives the 
following very powerful and very just reasons for the insalubrity 
of this coast. " The unwholesomeness of the coast, in my 
opinion," says he, " is chiefly owing to the heat of the day and 
the coolness of the night, which sudden change I am induced 
to believe occasions several contrary effects in our bodies, es- 
pecially in those who are not accustomed to bear more heat than 
cold, by too hastily throwing off their clothes to cool too fast. 
The second and greatest cause which I can find is, that the 
Gold Coast from one end to the other so greatly abounds with 
high mountains, in the vallies betwixt which every morning a 
thick, stinking, and sulphureous damp mist rises, especially near 
rivers or watering places, which mist so spreads itself, and falls 
so thick on the earth, that it is almost impossible to escape the 
infection ; and while we are fasting our bodies are more suscepti- 
ble than the natives. This fog happeneth most frequently in the 
ill season of the six months which we here call winter, but more 
especially in July and August, wherefore we are more seized 
with sickness in that time than in the good season, or summer." 
— Bosman, Pink. Coll., vol. xvi. p. 381. 

Ashantee, as has been stated, is at present the most powerful 
state in all Western Africa, and in fact rules over a considerable 
portion of it. This being the case, and also the manners and 
customs of its people, in a public and national, point of view, 
being similar to the manners and customs of all the states, 
whether great or small, which are Pagan in their religion, and 
which extend south from about 9° N. lat. to the Atlantic, and 
from Biafra on the east to the borders of Sierra Leone on the 
west; a brief notice of its state and condition, as regards 
manners and customs, may suffice for all the rest. Ashantee 



ASHANTEE, OR WESTERN WANGARA. 



31 



is a monarchy of the most despotic description ; the sovereign 
there rules over all his subjects by the terrors of superstition 
and the sword. Their religion is Paganism, in its lowest and 
most degraded forms ; and in many of the districts and the 
countries adjoining, the people are so ignorant and degraded 
as to worship the shark and the snake. Amongst other 
customs which were known and practised amidst the most 
barbarous nations of Europe and Asia in the most ancient 
times — that of sacrificing their enemies taken captive in war, 
to gratify their deities, to appease the manes of their chiefs 
who fell in battle, or to attend them as slaves in the invisible 
world, is retained in Ashantee, and in all that portion of 
Africa to which we have just alluded. This custom is practised 
to an extent that is both fearful and incredible, and probably 
with a deeper and stronger ferocity than ever was known in 
ancient times in any other quarter of the world. Thousands on 
thousands of human beings are daily sacrificed in this part of 
Africa, amidst horrors and sufferings unutterable, under one 
species of religious pretence or another. The bones of relatives 
are dug from their graves, or these graves saturated with, and 
these bones washed in the blood of the butchered victims. 
The scenes that Dupuis and Bowditch witnessed at Coomassie 
are such as defy description and petrify the mind with anguish 
and horror. Yet the people of Ashantee are not savages, nor 
the sovereign thereof a perfect barbarian ; on the contrary, 
they are considerably advanced in civilization ; but such have 
been for ages the customs of their country, and these they 
continue to follow as religious duties and moral and meritorious 
acts. It is also a curious and remarkable fact, that in Ashantee 
some of their customs are the same which prevailed in Asia 
during the days of Moses, and which he enacted as laws for 
the Jews in their civil and domestic policy. 

It is now about two hundred years since Ashantee began to 
raise her head above her neighbours in that quarter of Africa, 
and since that period her power has continued to increase and 
to spread, through wars the most bloody and destructive. 
State after state has fallen under her sway ; rebellion after 
rebellion, and confederacy after confederacy against her by 
neighbouring states, have, after varied success and tremendous 



32 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



scenes of carnage and desolation, been crashed and broken to 
pieces ; and but few powers in that quarter of Africa are now 
willing or anxious to measure their strength with her, though 
occasionally bloody conflicts do still take place between them. 
Besides the slaughter on the field of battle and the destruction 
of life in burning their towns, thousands and thousands of all 
ages and sexes of people are taken captives, reduced to a state of 
slavery, and some of them are subsequently sold to the European 
slave dealers, who carry them across the Atlantic. But, except 
the reservation of part of the youth of the male sex, spared to 
recruit their armies, by far the greater portion of the unhappy 
captives are butchered by thousands at a time, and in a day, in 
the sacrifices for the purposes and the objects above alluded to. 
Not one nation or one state, in all this quarter of Africa, is better 
than another in this respect. The victor to-day may be the 
vanquished to-morrow ; and when vanquished, that nation 
suffers from the hand of the victors the butcheries and the 
cruelties which, if it had been successful, it would have 
inflicted upon the other. It is not only common, but almost 
the daily custom for the sovereign and chief men in every 
nation to soak their thrones and footstools with the warm 
blood of their butchered fellow-creatures ; to carry their bones 
bared of their flesh before them in triumph, and to adorn their 
war drums, their war accoutrements, their palaces, and their 
apartments, and above all the temples of their grovelling 
deities, with human skulls and human bones ! Such are the 
scenes which are every day presented to the eyes of the 
beholder in the delta of the Niger ; at the courts of Benin 
and Dahomy, and at Ardrah, Badagry, Coomassie, and other 
places, independent of the horrors witnessed about their fetish 
temples and above all their fetish trees, of which Lander gives 
such an appalling but such a just picture. 

The real Negro race, and who remain unconquered by the 
Mahommedan arms, and unconverted to the Mahommedan faith, 
were, from six to eight centuries ago, driven into this portion 
of Africa, where the very high mountains and native forests 
which run east and west in the parallel of 9° to 10° N. lat. have 
hitherto sheltered them from the incessant attacks of the fanatic 
Moor, and the more fanatic Negro Mahommedan convert. 



ASIIANTEE, OR WESTERN WANG A RA» 



S3 



The contiguity also of these Negro states with the Atlantic, 
from which they have been al undantly supplied for 250 years 
with powder and fire-arms by their trade with Europeans, has 
enabled them, even more than their natural barriers and 
defences, to oppose the restless Moors, who are only enabled to 
obtain such supplies of the munitions of war, to a limited 
degree, by the caravans across the Great Desert from the 
shores of the Mediterranean. To this cause chiefly is it owing 
that this portion of Africa has hitherto escaped from the 
Mahommedan faith and from the Mahommedan yoke — a circum- 
stance in one point to be regretted, because, wherever that 
faith and that yoke have been introduced, an end has been put 
to all those grovelling superstitions, and human massacres, and 
human sacrifices, to which we have alluded. 

Gaman and its provinces of Baman, Safoy, and Showy, 
contain the richest gold mines in Africa. Besides large 
quantities of gold dust, found on the banks of the Barra, 
which stream flows into the Tando below Kherabe, a large 
Mussulman town, gold is found in other parts of Gaman in 
large lumps, denominated rock gold, some of which lumps 
seen by Mr. Dupuis at Coomassie being equal to four pounds 
in weight. The king made a present to Mr. Hutchinson of 
three pieces, one of which weighed twenty ounces. The ore, 
which is of a very deep colour, is dug out of large pits from five 
to nine feet in depth. In Dinkira and Wassaw, the metal is 
found in a similar manner, but at a greater depth. On the 
banks of the Barra, about 10,000 slaves are busily employed 
for a period of two months each year collecting gold ; and the 
dust thus procured, in very considerable quantities, is higher 
coloured, cleaner, and better than that which is gathered in any 
other country. The principal part of the metal is carried away 
by traders to countries in the interior, particularly Salgha, Yandy, 
Wabia, Kong, and Mandingo, where it is manufactured into 
trinkets ; or carried to Jinne and Timbuctoo, and thence across 
the Great Desert to the shores of the Mediterranean. Boure, 
Gaman, and the parts of Africa adjacent, are clearly the country 
Belad el Tibri, mentioned by the old Arabian geographer Iben 
al Vardi, or the country of pure gold, where gold, as he states, 
came out of the earth like as plants do in other countries ; and 

D 



34 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



which country, he informs us, was distant three months' journey 
from Segelmessa, a town on the borders of the Great Desert 
belonging to Tafilet, a province of Morocco, and on the south- 
east side of Mount Atlas. 

Soko, formerly a province of Gaman, is eleven days' journey 
from Coomassie, and Banna four days' journey beyond that 
place, but a little further to the eastward. The river Offim is 
crossed on the second day, and the Tando at the end of four 
days' journey beyond Tandosoo, on the route from Coomassie. 
From Coomassie to Boopee is sixteen journeys, about NN. E. 
Four hours' march south of the latter place the river Adirrai 
or Volta is crossed, 120 yards broad, its course in this part 
being towards the S.E. The source of this river, according 
to Bowditch, is in a very high mountain called Koondongaree, 
one of the Jibbel Sargha range, eight days' journey to the 
north-west, and in the eastern portion of which range Dupuis 
also places the source of this great river. This range rises to 
such a great elevation, that the cold upon it is very severe, 
while it gives birth to many rivers which flow in various, and 
some in opposite directions. Three days' journey from Boopee 
is Daboia, the capital of the great province of Ghobago ; and 
one day's journey to the south of it, at the town of Moronco, is 
the river Addifoosoo, which has its source also in the Jibbel 
Sargha. It is here about sixty yards broad, and flows into 
the Adirrai or Volta, above Salgha or Sallagha. Two days 
north of Daboia, upon the route thence to Yngwa, is found 
another considerable river, which has its source in the same 
mountains, and which, under different names, bends its course 
E.S.E., and then S.E., passing to the S.W. of Yandi, where 
it assumes the name of the Komashar, so called from a kind of 
gum which is found on its banks. This river is the parent 
stream of the Lagos, and where it crosses the road from Salgha 
to Ghofll, about six days' journey from the former place, it is 
a very considerable river, and navigable for canoes. The 
country through which it flows in its upper course is extremely 
mountainous, and in general very fertile and very populous. 
From Buntokoo to Kong is twelve days' journey, say ninety- 
six geographical miles, in a bearing a little to the eastward 
of north. There is another and more direct road to it from 



ASIIANTEE, OR WESTERN WANG ARA. 



,'35 



Coomassie by Enkassie, fourteen days' journey, and from Enkas- 
sie to Kong, six journeys more ; together, twenty days' journey. 
By the first route the river Zamma, running west, is crossed on 
the seventh day, and described to be as large as the Volta is at 
Salgha, or equal to the breadth of the Thames at Battersea. 
At the same distance from Buntokoo to the N.W. is the Mus- 
sulman town of Kherabe already mentioned, situated on the 
river Barra, which rises near it, and is unquestionably a branch 
of the Zamma ; which latter is again a principal branch of. or 
rather, the parent stream of the Assinee. One day north of 
the Zamma, and four days south of Kong, the traveller crosses 
the small river Woora, a branch of the Zamma ; both these 
streams take their rise on the S.W. side of the Jibbel Sargha. 
In the province of Kong, as De Caille was informed, there 
are no great rivers, but many small streams, which streams pro- 
bably flow south to the Barra and the Zamma, because very 
high mountains are found to the north of Kong. The country 
known under this celebrated name is represented as well culti- 
vated, well watered, fertile, and populous, and the capital 
situated at the foot of a very high mountain.^ Nine journeys 
north of Kong is Kaybee, which place is also very populous ; 
the soil is chalky, and the country is particularly famed for the 
number and the breed of asses which are in it. At the distance 
of seven of the above-mentioned journeys from Kong, several 
high mountains are crossed. Three days' journey from Kaybee, 
over a large mountain named Saboopoo, and across a large 
river, is Kaywaree. The people are represented as robbers 
and depraved. The river mentioned as flowing here is doubt- 
less the Kowara-Ba mentioned by De Caille, as will be par- 
ticularly adverted to in the sequel. Three journeys, from 
Kaywaree is Garroo, a powerful kingdom, the capital of which 
is named Netaquolla. In his journey from Jinne by Garroo 
Wargee, the Twarick says he crossed the river in his route 
between Garroo and Kong, and that when he crossed it, 
it ran " from the rising to the setting sun." Tw r enty journeys 
from Garroo is Dowa'rro, the people of which are indifferent 
warriors, but superior agriculturists, and plant extensively; 

* Kong is the Mandingo word for mountain. It also signifies "forest?'' The 
word for hill is " konko" Konkodoo is " hilly country." 

b2 



36 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



so De Caille found the population of this portion of Africa. 
Five journeys north of Dowarro is the Niger, and the town of 
Jinne, situated on an island. The journey from Buntokoo is 
thus fifty-four days, or, at eight geographical miles made good 
each day, is 432 miles, corresponding well with the position of 
Jinne as placed on the map by other authorities, and in 
travels undertaken from quite different quarters. Salgha, or 
Salagha, the great market town of Inta, and the capital of the 
country properly denominated Gunjah, is seventeen journeys 
north-eastward from Coomassie. On the ninth day the rivers 
Kirradee and Oboosoom are crossed, being each about sixty 
yards broad, and flowing so near to each other, as to appear 
one during the rainy season. A high mountain, which bounds 
Ashantee and Booroom, rises immediately behind them. On 
the tenth day the river Sannee is crossed, which afterwards 
enlarges considerably by the addition of the two rivers just 
mentioned; and to the S.E. of which junction it enters the Rio 
Volta at Odente, where there is a public ferry. The source of 
the Sannee is five days' journey north of Coomassie, between 
the Boopee and the Salgha roads. The Booroom country is 
quite open, and Goya, the capital, is a considerable town. On 
the seventeenth day, and at a little distance from Salgha, the 
Adirrai, or Volta, is crossed, being, according to the accounts 
received by Mr. Dupuis, here about the breadth of the Thames 
at Battersea bridge. In this part of its course it is much inter- 
rupted by rocks, but has abundance of hippopotami in it. Salgha 
is a place of great commercial importance, much larger than 
Coomassie, and the country around is very populous. Agri- 
culture is encouraged in all these countries, which are thus 
comparatively clear of forests. South-west of Salgha, and on 
the west side of the Rio Volta, is the large lake called Bouro, 
three hours' march from the river, with which it communicates 
during the rains. It abounds with fish of a superior quality, 
and which are daily carried from it to the Salgha market. A 
small river from the north-west runs into the lake, the source 
of which river is in the desert of Gofan, which, though barren 
and sandy, has abundance of water from wells. 

Seven days from Salgha, on a bearing N.E., is Yandi, the 
capital of the great district of Dagomba, a city much larger 



ASH AN TEE, OR WESTERN WANG AR A. 



37 



than either Coomassie or Salgha. The population is said to 
be very great. The markets of Yandi are described as ani- 
mated scenes of commerce, and constantly crowded with mer- 
chants from all the countries in the interior ; horses and cattle 
are very numerous, and even the poorer classes possess large 
tlocks of sheep. About six days' journey beyond Salgha, on 
the route to Yandi, is the Komashar river already mentioned, 
and though the accounts are rather confused, it would appear 
that on this part of its course it receives a branch from the 
north-eastward. 

Eight days' journey north-westward of Yandi is the Da- 
gomba town and district named Yngwa. Four days from 
Yngwa is a river, the parent stream of the Komashar, sixty 
yards broad ; and two days north of the Komashar is another 
Dagomba town called Konboro. Five journeys to the north- 
eastward of Yandi is the small kingdom of Gamba, formerly 
a much more considerable state than it now is, and without 
doubt the Kombah or Kambah of former maps and of Major 
Rennell. Northward of Yngwa is the kingdom of Foobee ; 
before reaching it, a river, which Bowditch calls Kontoroora, is 
crossed, and which, in the customary strain of African ampli- 
fication, he was told was half a mile broad — from certain data 
we can reduce this to a more moderate magnitude. Thus 
Bowditch also states, that the Rio Volta at Salgha was half a 
mile wide (he states the Zamma to be of the same magnitude), 
while Dupuis reduces the breadth of the Volta at Salgha to be 
equal to that of the Thames at Battersea-bridge. This mag- 
nitude, with perhaps some trifling deduction therefrom, we 
may take as the true breadth and magnitude both of the Zamma 
and the river Kontoroora, at the points mentioned. This 
latter river, he states, has an eastern and a western branch, the 
united streams of which doubtless form the river Gulbe of 
Magho. One day's journey from the river is a large mountain, 
and one day beyond it is Foobee. Five days' journey north- 
ward from Foobee is the independent kingdom of Chouocha. 
Foobee is fifteen days' journey to the westward of Gooroma, 
the capital of Magho, and nine days' journey eastward from 
Kayree, certainly the same as Kaywarree. Five days' journey 
from Yngwa is the kingdom of Mousee^a warlike state, which 



38 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OP AFRICA. 



is passed by the Moors in their route from Yandi and Yngwa 
to Jinne. This is the kingdom of which, according to Dupuis, 
Aughgoa, twenty-five days' journey from Coomassie, eighteen 
from Yandi, and fifteen from Zogho, is the capital. It is 
doubtless also the great state called Mouchee, mentioned by 
Sultan Bello as lying in these parts, and to the right or south 
of which state lies the empire of Ashantee. A few days' 
journey from Foobee, through Chambay and Kobafoo, is Kal- 
lana, rivalling Yandy as a market. Kallana is situated at the 
foot of a mountain abounding in iron. Hereabouts Sultan 
Bello has placed a country where muskets are made. A state, 
called by Bowditch Komshalloo, is thirty days' journey from 
Dagomba. The traders to it from Ashantee pass through 
Mousee, and cross only one river, the Teshinga, in their route, 
and that not very large. In the parallel of Salgha, and beyond 
the Komashar river, is a lake of great extent. Travellers 
going either from the east or from the west, journey along its 
shores for the space of two days. There are several inhabited 
islands in it. It lies six days' journey due south of Zogho, or 
rather the capital of the country of that name, which is also 
called Hio, and sometimes Eyoo. This lake is seven days' 
journey from Abomey, the capital of Dahomey. It is distant 
from the ford on the Komashar, three days' journey east, and 
is said to have no communication with any great river. To the 
south of the lake the country is flat, and that country, together 
with the towns and the villages on the islands in the lake, are 
subject to the sovereign of Zogho. 

Along all the coast of the Atlantic, in the Gulf of Guinea, 
the country from the Assinee river eastward is in some parts 
fifteen, and in others so much as eighty miles inland, exceed- 
ingly woody — in fact, a natural forest uncleared, and without 
many inhabitants ; inland beyond the distance mentioned, it 
becomes cleared, cultivated, very populous, and covered with 
large towns and villages. The country in the districts of Inta, 
Tonouma, Yngwa, &c, and all about the range of Jibbel Sargha, 
is exceedingly elevated, and the cold so much felt, that the 
inhabitants are obliged to wear woollen garments ; and Robert- 
son states, that some of his informants told him, the mountains 
in this part, as well as those further to the westward, were 



ASHANTEE, OR WESTERN W ANGARA. 



39 



covered with snow. The Quarterly Review, No. 58, tells us, 
that a seaman belonging to the Owen Glendower frigate tra- 
velled from Kashna to Anamaboe, in 1805, and that ten days' 
journey before he came in sight of the sea towards the Gold 
Coast, he passed over a very high chain of mountains, a peak 
of which was covered with a " white cap," or snow. Leo 
Africanus also states, that in the country of Gago, situated 
certainly on the northern base of these mountains, the cold in 
winter was so severe, that the population were obliged to wrap 
themselves up in sheepskins. 

In studying the courses of the rivers in this portion of Africa, 
it appears that the rising ground commences in the neigh- 
bourhood of Cape Coast Castle, and running north-easterly, 
increases in height as it advances to the north ; afterwards it 
runs northerly, about fifty miles to the eastward of Coomassie, 
and thence it runs about NN.W. between Banna, Soko, and 
Ghofan, till it joins the lofty ridge of Jibbel Sargha, which 
ridge divides the waters that flow eastward to the Rio Volta, 
and westward to the Bossempra, the Tando, &c, from those 
which flow N.W. and N.E. to the Niger. From Coomassie the 
route south-eastward to Accra is exceedingly mountainous and 
rugged, so much so that, according to Dupuis, p. 33, although 
the two places are only 140 geographical miles distant from 
each other in a direct line, yet the distance travelled is at least 
240 miles. The same thing may, from one cause or another, 
be said of all African travelling. 

It has been observed, that, with the exception of a small por- 
tion of the sea coast, this portion of Africa is exceedingly 
populous. Coomassie contains 100,000 inhabitants (Bowditch) ; 
Yandy, Salgha, Wabia, Callana, and several other towns, are 
still larger than Coomassie. In fact Africa here, and as we 
shall'also see in other places, swarms with population ; and this, 
notwithstanding the terrific and destructive wars which are 
almost yearly taking place amongst the different states in it. 
Allowing for African exaggeration, these national wars are 
truly bloody and destructive ; according to Bosman, about a 
hundred years ago, in one battle which produced the subjuga- 
tion of Dinkira, 100,000 men fell upon the field of battle ; towns 
and villages were obliterated from the face of the earth, and 



40 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



thousands and thousands of the population of all ages and sexes 
were carried off as prisoners and slaves by the conqueror. About 
twenty years ago the subjugation of Gaman led to a similar 
bloody result, and 30,000 of its population were carried into 
slavery by the sovereign of Ashantee. Subsequent wars with 
the Fantees led to equal scenes of destruction and desolation ; 
but it would be endless, and is considered unnecessary to go 
further into the history of such bloody struggles which, in one 
place or other, are, it may be said, yearly occurrences. It is 
quite a mistake to suppose that these wars are undertaken for 
the sole purpose of procuring slaves : the king of Ashantee re- 
pelled this supposition with scorn. These great national wars 
proceed from causes not very dissimilar to those which produce 
national wars amongst the civilized nations of the world ; but 
the result in Africa is, that the conquered who are not slain on 
the field of battle, or massacred in the sacking of the towns and 
villages, become slaves at the disposal of the conqueror. It is 
true that in petty differences people are made slaves in Africa 
by their neighbours, from a spirit of retaliation or for the sordid 
loveof gain, for which parents will even sell their own children. 
This the laws of all the African states either tolerate or directly 
sanction : it is equally true that wherever the Mahommedan 
religion prevails, predatory incursions are made into the terri- 
tories of neighbouring infidel states, in order to make slaves of 
as many of the people as they can catch, and which these Ma- 
hommedans consider to be a religious duty. And although the 
number of people reduced to a state of slavery in Africa by the 
causes just mentioned, and although the destruction which these 
proceedings create, is very great, both as regards life and pro- 
perty, still the whole combined are but as a drop in the bucket 
and a grain in the balance, when compared with the slavery, 
the destruction, and the desolation which the great national 
wars betwixt state and state are daily entailing on Africa. 

Lander has preserved two curious documents, namely, the 
hostile manifestoes of Sultan Bello and the Chief of Fundah 
against each other, which may serve as a correct specimen of 
the causes of the national wars, and the spirit in which, together 
with the object for which these are undertaken in Africa. 

u The Sultan (Bello) accordingly, assembling all his forces, 



ASHANTEE, Oil WESTERN WANGARA. 



4.1 



marched with a formidable army towards the devoted Fundah ; 
and halting about half a mile from that city, sent the following 
singular and characteristic message to the king : — 

" Bellos Message. 
" 1 Ruler of Fundah ! deliver up your country, your riches, 
your people, and your slaves, to the beloved of God, Mahommed 
Bello, King of all the Mussulmans, without reluctance on your 
part; for if you do not suffer him quietly and peaceably to take 
possession of your kingdom, in order to propagate the religion 
of the only true Prophet in it, he will shed your blood, and the 
blood of your children, and the blood of your household; not 
one shall be left alive : while your people he will bind with 
fetters of iron, to be his slaves and bondsmen for ever— God 
having so spoken by the mouth of Mahommed ! ' 

" King of Fundatis Answer. 

" ' Sultan of the Fallatahs ! the King of Fundah does not know 
you or your Prophet ; he laughs your boastings to scorn, and 
despises your impotent threats. Go back to your country, and 
live in peace with your people ; for if you persist in the foolish 
attempt to invade his dominions, you will surely fall by his 
hands ; and instead of him or his subjects being your vassals and 
bondsmen, — your slaves shall be his slaves, and your people 
his people. Your chiefs and warriors, and mighty men, will 
be slaughtered without mercy, and their blood shall be sprinkled 
on the walls of his town ; while even your mallams and emirs 
will be thrust through with spears, and their bodies cast into 
the woods, to be devoured by lions and birds of prey !' " 

In reference to the subject of human sacrifices so prevalent 
in Western Africa, it is merely necessary, in order to show their 
prevalence, their nature, and their extent, to adduce the fol- 
lowing extracts from the journals of Bowditch, Hutchison, 
Dupuis and Lander; they speak for themselves. It is only 
requisite further to observe, that these practices prevail in 
Ashantee, Dahomey, Benin, and in every other country and 
state in that quarter of Africa where the Mahommedan religion 
and the Mahommedan power does not prevail, and greater or 
lesser, according to the magnitude of the state or country, and 
the strength of the power thereof. 



42 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. ASHANTEE. 

Let us look at the picture presented to our view in the customs 
and ceremonies in Ashantee, one of the most powerful and 
civilized nations in southern Africa, a nation with which Britain 
has entered into treaties, as these customs have been laid before 
us by an eye-witness, namely, Mr. Bowditch, the British envoy 
to the court of Coomassie in 1817. 

" The population of Ashantee," says he, p. 250, " possess little 
humanity, and are very avaricious and oppressive. The lower order 
of the people are ungrateful, insolent, and licentious. The king 
repeatedly said, he believed them to be the worst people existing, 
except the Fantees, and not comparable with many of their inland 
neighbours. They listen to superstition with the most childish 
credulity, but they only cultivate it for the preservation of life and 

the indulgence of passion Men accused of witchcraft, or having 

a devil, are tortured to death Their fetisches or subordinate 

deities are supposed to inhabit particular rivers ; the king, caboceers, 
and the higher class are believed to dwell with the superior deity 
after death, enjoying an eternal renewal of the state and luxury they 
possessed on earth. It is with this impression that they kill a 
certain number of both sexes at the funeral customs, to accompany 
the deceased, to announce his destination, and to administer to his 
pleasures. The spirits of the inferior classes are believed to inhabit 
the houses of the fetische, in a state of torpid indolence, which re- 
compenses them for the drudgery of their lives, and which is truly 

congenial to the feelings of the negro, &c The states on the 

coast revere different animals as fetische ; the hyena at Accra, the 
alligator at Dix Cove and Anamboe, and the vulture universally." 

Minds, manners, and society do not improve in Africa. 
Jobson, in 1620, and previous to the European slave trade, 
saw exactly what Park, Bowditch, Lander, &c. saw in 1798 
to 1834. But to proceed with Bowditch — 

" The Yam custom is like the Saturnalia ; neither theft, intrigue, 
or assault are punishable during its continuance, but the grossest 
liberty prevails, and each sex abandons itself to its passions. The 
principal caboceers sacrificed a slave at each quarter of the town, on 
their entree on Friday the 5th of September. On Saturday, the 6th, 

the ceremony commenced The crush in the distance was awful 

and tremendous. All the heads of the kings and caboceers whose 



i 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. ASHANTEE. 43 

kingdoms had been conquered, from Sai Tatoo to the present reign, 
with those of the chiefs who had been executed for subsequent 
revolts, were displayed by two parties of executioners, each upwards 
pf a hundred, who passed in an impassioned dance, some with the 
most irresistible grimace, some with the most frightful gesture ; they 
clashed their knives upon the skulls, in which sprigs of thyme were 
inserted to keep the spirits from troubling the king. I never felt 
as grateful for being born in a free country. . . . About 100 persons, 
mostly culprits reserved, are generally sacrificed in different quarters 
of the town at this custom. Several slaves were also sacrificed at 
Bantama over the large brass pan, their blood mingled with the 
vegetable and animal matter within (fresh and purified), to complete 
the charm and produce invincible fetische. All the chiefs kill 
several slaves, that their blood may flow into the hole from whence 
the new yam is taken. Those who cannot afford to kill slaves take 

the head of one already sacrificed and placed in the hole The 

unhappy victims on these occasions are led to execution with knives 
thrust through their jaws and tongue from side to side, and after- 
wards literally hacked to pieces ! . . . The decease of a person is 
announced by a discharge of musketry proportionate to his rank or 
the wealth of his family. In an instant you see a crowd of slaves 
burst from the house and run towards the bush, flattering themselves 
that the hindermost, or those surprised in the house, will furnish the 
human victims for sacrifice, if they can but secrete themselves until 
the custom is over. One or two slaves are then sacrificed at the 
door of the house. . . . On the death of Quatchie Quoffie's mother, 
the king Quatchie QuofRe, and Odumata, each sacrificed a young 
girl directly the deceased had breathed her last, that she might not 
want for attendants until the greater sacrifice was made. We 
walked to Assofoo about twelve o'clock ; the vultures were hovering 
around two headless trunks, scarcely cold. . . . Troops of women 
were advancing, dancing, &c. ... Now and then a victim was hurried 
by, generally dragged or run along at full speed ; the uncouth dress 
and the exulting countenances of those who surrounded him liken- 
ing them to as many fiends. I observed apathy more frequently 
than despair or emotion, in the looks of the victims. The victims, 
with large knives driven through their cheeks, eyed Quatchie 
Quoffie with indifference, he them with a savage joy bordering 
on frenzy. Thirteen victims, surrounded by their executioners, 
whose black shaggy caps and veils gave them the appearance of 
bears rather than men, were pressed together by the crowd to the 



44 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



left of the king. The drums announced the sacrifice of the victims. 
The executioners wrangled and struggled for the office, and the in- 
difference with which the first poor creature looked on, in the torture 
he was in from the knife passing through his cheeks, was remarkable. 
The nearest executioner snatched the sword from the others, the 
right hand of the victim was then lopped off, he was thrown down, 
and his head was sawed rather than cut off ; it was cruelly pro- 
longed, I will not say wilfully. Twelve more were dragged forward, 
but we forced our way through the crowd and retired to our quarters. 
Other sacrifices, principally female, were made in the bush where 
the body was buried. Tt is usual to wet the grave with the blood 
of a freeman of respectability. All the retainers of the family being 
present, and the heads of all the victims deposited in the bottom of 
the grave, several are unsuspectingly called in a hurry to assist in 
placing the coffin or basket ; and just as it rests on the heads and 
skulls, a slave from behind stuns one of the freemen by a violent 
blow, followed by a deep gash in the back part of the neck, and he 
is rolled in on the top of the body, and the grave is instantly 
filled up," &c. 

" On the death of a king, all the customs which have been for 
the subjects who have died during his reign must be repeated by 
the families, (the human sacrifices, as well as the carousals and 
pageantry,) to amplify that for the monarch, which is also solemnized, 
independently, but, at the same time, in every excess of extravagance 
and barbarity. The brothers, sons, and nephews of the king, affect- 
ing temporary insanity, burst forth with their muskets and fire pro- 
miscuously amongst the crowd ; even a man of rank, if they meet 
him, is their victim, nor is their murder of him or any other, on 
such an occasion, resisted or prevented ; the scene can scarcely be 
imagined. Few persons of rank dare to stir from their houses for 
the first two or three days, but religiously drive forth all their 
vassals and slaves, as the most acceptable composition of their own 
absence. The king's Ocras, who will be mentioned presently, are 
all murdered on his tomb, to the number of a hundred or more, and 
women in abundance. I was assured by several that the custom for 
Sai Quamina was repeated weekly for three months, and that 200 
slaves were sacrificed, and twenty-five barrels of powder fired each 
time. But the custom of the king's mother, the regent of the king- 
dom during the invasion of Fantee, is most celebrated. The king 
himself devoted 3000 victims (upwards of 2000 of whom were 
Fantee prisoners) and twenty-five barrels of powder. Dwabin, 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. AS II ANT EE. 



45 



Kokofoo, Beequa, Soota, and Mampong furnished 100 victims and 
twenty barrels of powder each, and most of the smaller towns ten 

victims and two barrels of powder each The king's ocras are 

favourite slaves, or favoured commons, who stake their lives upon 

the king's, to be kept free from palavers, &c Several of the 

hearts of the enemy are cut out by the fetische men, who follow the 
army, and the blood and small pieces being mixed (with much 
ceremony and incantation) with various consecrated herbs, all those 
who never killed an enemy before eat a portion, for it is believed, 
that if they did not, their vigour and courage would be secretly 

wasted by the haunting spirit of the deceased On the eve of the 

Adai festival, early in January, similar butcheries to those already 
described take place, and continue for several days and nights 
successively ; but the scenes and deeds are too painful and disgust- 
ing to pursue them further ; sufficient has been shown and adduced 
to show their fearful frequency, their terrible extent, and their 
dreadful and degrading and destructive atrocity." — Bowditch, 
pp. 275—290. 

" At day-break the firing of guns, music, &c. announced a custom 
for the husband of the king's sister (the second woman in the king- 
dom,) he having died in the bush on Friday. About 7 o'clock, the 
king went to the market-place to make custom, and sacrifice two 
men ; several others were killed by various caboceers. In the even- 
ing, Apokoo and the other captains who are to exhibit their gold, 
paraded the streets, firing musketry, &c. ; the crowd was great." — 
Bowditch, p. 394. 

"After drinking coffee, &c, they took a hurried leave, as one of 
the king's people came to tell me one of his majesty's daughters was 
dead, and shortly after, a constant discharge of musketry announced 
the custom. The king in the afternoon came to the market-place close 
to the house, to make custom with his chiefs. I understood that human 
sacrifices were to be offered, and walked out to avoid the uproar. 

" On my way I paid a visit to Baba, who was performing ablution ; 
he said he was going to prayer, but would soon have done ; I told 
him I would sit down till he had finished. 

— " There was something solemn and affecting in it, contrasted 
with the heavy discharges of musketry and shouts of the populace in 
the distance, which proclaimed the bloody sacrifice was begun, while 
the vultures and crows wheeled in mazy circles, expecting their usual 
share of the banquet, and the sun shot his last gleams through the 
heavy fogs that encircled the town. 



46 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



" As I went home, I passed the headless trunks of two female 
slaves, lying neglected and exposed in the market-place, that had 
been sacrificed, one by the king, and one by the deceased's family. 
The vultures were revelling, undisturbed, amidst the blood." — 
Bowditch, pp. 405, 406. 

" The greatest human sacrifice that has been made in Coomassie 
during my residence, took place on the eve of the Adai custom, 
early in January. I had a mysterious intimation of it two days 
before, from a quarter not to be named. My servants being ordered 
out of the way, I was addressed : ' Christian, take care and watch 
over your family : the angel of death has drawn his sword, and will 
strike on the neck of many Ashantees ; when the drum is struck, 
on Adai eve, it will be the death signal of many. Shun the king 
if you can, but fear not.' 

— " Whilst I was with the king, the officers, whose duty it is 
to attend at sacrifices, and are in the confidence of the king, came 
in with their knives, &c. 

" This sacrifice was in consequence of the king imagining, that 
if he washed the bones of his mother and sisters, who died while 
he was on the throne, it would propitiate the fetish, and make the 
war successful. Their bones were therefore taken from their coffins, 
and bathed in rum and water with great ceremony; after being 
wiped with silks, they were rolled in gold dust, and wrapped in 
strings of rock gold, aggry beads, and other things of the most 
costly nature. Those who had done anything to displease the 
king, were then sent for in succession, and immolated as they 
entered, ' that their blood might water the graves.' The whole of 
the night the king's executioners traversed the streets, and dragged 
every one they found to the palace, where they were put in irons : 
but (which is often the case) some one had disclosed the secret, and 
almost every one had fled, and the king was disappointed of most 
of his distinguished victims. Next morning being Adai custom, 
which generally brought an immense crowd to the city, every place 
was silent and forlorn : nothing could be found in the market, and 
his majesty proceeded to the morning sacrifice of sheep, &c. 
attended only by his confidants, and the members of his own 
family. "When I appeared at the usual time, he seemed pleased 
at my confidence, and remarked that I observed how few captains 
were present. He appeared agitated and fatigued, and sat a 
very short time. • 

" As soon as it was dark, the human sacrifices were renewed, and, 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. — ASIIANTEE. 



47 



during the night, the bones of the royal deceased were removed 
to the sacred tomb at Bantama, to be deposited along with the 
remains of those who had sat on the throne. The procession was 
splendid, but not numerous, the chiefs and attendants being dressed 
in the war costume, with a musket, and preceded by torches ; the 
sacred stools, and all the ornaments used on great occasions, were 
carried with them ; the victims, with their hands tied behind them, 
and in chains, preceded the bones, whilst, at intervals, the songs 
of death and victory proved their wish to begin the war. The 
procession returned about three p. m. on Monday, when the king 
took his seat in the market-place, with his small band, and 4 death ! 
death! death!' was echoed by his horns. He sat with a silver 
goblet of palm wine in his hand, and when they cut off any head, 
imitated a dancing motion in his chair ; a little before dark, he 
finished his terrors for that day, by retiring to the palace, and 
soon after, the chiefs came from their concealment, and paraded the 
streets, rejoicing that they had escaped death, although a few days 
might put them in the same fear. I had been attacked with a 
violent fit of the ague in the morning, from having stood so long 
in the sun the day before while with the king, it being unusually 
hot. I dared not send out my people to procure anything, lest 
they should be murdered, and, in fact, there was nothing in the 
market to be had : there was not even a drop of water in the house. 
The sacrifice was continued till the next Adai custom, seventeen 
days." — Bowditch, pp. 419, 420, 421. 

" The king's sister entered my quarters in the forenoon, bringing 
in her train a troop of about one hundred and fifty women and young 
girls, many of whom were described as the daughters and wives of men 
of high rank. This woman's relationship naturally established 
her in an elevated rank, but she was doubly dignified by an em- 
ployment which, perhaps, may not be improperly termed governess 
of the Harem, or queen over the females ; all of that sex being 
responsible to her government, and subject to an arbitrary control 
under her vice-governesses. 

" With this employment she had been invested only a few months, 
and since the king's return from Buntokoo. Her elevation pro- 
ceeded from a cause somewhat remarkable. 

" When the king was about to open the campaign against Gaman, 
he collected together his priests, to invoke the royal fetische, and 
perform the necessary orgies to insure success. These ministers 
of superstition sacrificed thirty-two males and eighteen female 



48 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



victims, as an expiatory offering to the gods, but the answers from 
the priests being deemed by the council as still devoid of inspiration, 
the king was induced to make a custom at the sepulchres of his 
ancestors, where many hundreds bled. This, it is affirmed, pro- 
pitiated the wrath of the adverse gods. The priests then prepared 
a certain fetische compound, which they delivered to the king, 
with an injunction to burn the composition daily in a consecrated 
fire-pot within the palace, and upon no account to neglect the fire, 
so as to suffer it to go out ; for as long as the sacred flame devoured 
the powder, he would triumph over his foes. 

" When the king joined his army, he commissioned his eldest sister 
(then governess of the kingdom), to attend strictly to the sacred 
mystery, telling her that his crown and life both depended upon 
her vigilance, and the fulfilment of his order. He selected also 
three wives, to whom he was more attached than the rest, to watch 
by turns over the mysterious rites, in conjunction with his last- 
mentioned sister. 

" During the king's absence, this arbitress of his fate formed a 
connexion with a chief of Bourmay, whose ambition suggested a 
plan to seat himself upon the throne. 

" In this conspiracy seventeen of the king's wives and their 
families are said to have joined ; the fire-pot was broken to pieces, 
and the chief commenced arming his party. But the king, added 
my informer, who had sustained heavy losses in the early part of 
the war, and was unable to account for the audacity of the enemy, 
performed an incantation over a certain talisman, which gave an 
insight into what was transacting in the capital. He therefore 
despatched a body of men under Audo Cudjo, who, after an im- 
potent struggle on the part of the enemy, effectually crushed the 
rebellion. When the king returned home, he called a council 
to deliberate upon the punishment due to the offenders, and it was 
finally decreed that his wives should suffer death by decapitation. 
His sister, to prevent the profanation of spilling royal blood, was 
ordered to be strangled. The chief, her paramour, and those of his 
party, were doomed to the most cruel deaths at the grave of the 
king's mother. These sentences were carried into prompt execu- 
tion, and, it is affirmed, that above seven hundred people were 
sacrificed, or fell in resisting the royal forces. After this, the 
younger sister, my present visitor, was made governess. 

" While these butcheries were transacting, the king prepared to 
enter the palace, and in the act of crossing the threshold of the 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. ASH AN TEE. 



49 



outer gate, was met by several of his wives, whose anxiety to 
embrace their sovereign lord, impelled them thus to overstep the 
boundary of female decorum in Ashantee ; for it happened that the 
king was accompanied by a number of his captains, who accordingly 
were compelled to cover their faces with both hands, and fly from 
the spot. This is said to have angered the monarch, although his 
resentment proceeded no farther than words, and he returned to 
embrace his wives. But being afterwards told by some of the 
superintendents, that these women were more or less indisposed 
from a natural female cause, he was inflamed to the highest pitch of 
indignation, and in a paroxysm of anger, caused these unhappy 
beings to be cut in pieces before his face ; giving orders at the time 
to cast the fragments into the forest, to be devoured by birds and 
beasts of prey.* Nor did the atonement rest here, for six more 
unhappy females were impeached of inconstancy, (a failing, I 
believe, very common among them,) and they also expiated their 
faults with their lives. Like another Ulysses, his majesty then 
devoted himself to the purification of his palace, when, to sum up 
the full horrors of these bloody deeds, two thousand wretched 
victims, selected from the Gaman prisoners of war, were slaughtered 
over the royal death-stool, in honour of the shades of departed 
kings and heroes." — Dupuis Residence in Ashantee, pp. 114 — 117 . 

" The bashaw and Abou Beer called in the evening ; they cursed 
the sanguinary disposition of the government, alleging that six men 
and nine women had been sacrificed in the morning to the king's 
household gods ; that these butcheries were kept from my knowledge 
for two reasons : the one, that they concerned the Mission, as the 
king had been imploring the aid of his idols, to incline the heart of 
the great king of England towards him — the other, that I should 
not have to report that the sovereign of Ashantee delighted in 
spilling human blood, which it was well known gave as much offence 
to white men as it did to Moslems." — Dupuis, p. 128. 

* The law of Ashantee, although preserved only by tradition, is equally influ- 
ential over the morals of all ranks. That regarding the treatment of women is 
of some interest, from its approximation to the Levitical, or, perhaps, more 
intimately to the Mahommedan law, as related in the second chapter of the Koran, 
where it is enjoined, that the men shall separate themselves from the women 
when naturally indisposed, this being deemed a pollution. In Ashantee, a 
woman is unclean from the same cause, and cannot approach her husband, or 
any male branch of her family, until the disorder has left her, and she has 
undergone certain purifying ablutions. 



• - 

I 

50 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

" On the 13th, this [the Adai] custom was ushered in by the 
discharge of fire-arms, and the sound of many barbarous instruments. 
Numbers of victims were offered up to the gods, although secretly 
in the palace and the houses of the chieftains. The poorer classes 
sacrificed cattle or poultry. The city itself exhibited the most 
deplorable solitude; and the few human beings who were courageous 
enough to shew themselves in the streets, fled at the approach of a 
captain, and barricadoed the doors of their huts, to escape the danger 
of being shot or sacrificed. The doleful cries of the women vibrated 
from several quarters of the city, — and the death-horns and drums 
within the palace seemed to stupify the obnoxious prisoners and 
foreign slaves with horror, as they contemplated the risk they were 
exposed to. I wandered about during this awful day, until fatigue 
and disgust led me to seek my quarters. 

" The following day, one of a similar train of horrors succeeded, 
and still I was left in suspense, for my own linguists and messengers 
were not hardy enough to knock at the royal gate. They dreaded, 
they said, the fetische men, who guarded the avenue, and who 
alone were suffered to enjoy free ingress. The society of the Moslems, 
however, in some degree reconciled me. By these people I was 
given to understand that seventy men and women had been put to 
death the day previous in the palace only ; besides those who were 
sacrificed in private houses, and in the forest. Most of these 
unhappy beings were Gaman prisoners of war, who had been 
purposely reserved as an offering to the gods ; the others were 
criminals or disobedient slaves. Such was the explanation I re- 
ceived." — Dupuis, pp. 141, 142. 

" Upon receiving the king's hand, which he presented with the 
utmost affability, I noticed a streak of dried blood upon his forehead, 
and this token appeared to be universal, as well among officers of 
distinction as their slaves and retainers. It denoted their participa- 
tion in the late sacrifices. The royal death- stool, clotted with the 
still reeking gore of its victims, stood on one side of the king, under 
care of the captain executioner, who attended with his band of 
assistants. At the feet of the sovereign, stood a small fire-pot, and 
a trunk fitted up with a compound medley of relics and charms 
soaking in blood." — Dupuis, p. 142. 

" ' Now,' said the king, after a pause, ' I have another palaver, 
and you must help me to talk it. A long time ago, the great king 
liked plenty of trade, more than now ; then many ships came, and 
they bought ivory, gold, and slaves ; but now he will not let the 



HUMAN SACRIFICES. — ASH AN TEE* 



51 



ships come as before, and the people buy gold and ivory only. This 
is what I have in my head ; so now tell me truly, like a friend, why 
does the king do so ? ' ' His Majesty's question,' I replied, ' was 
connected with a great palaver, which my instructions did not 
authorize me to discuss. I had nothing to say regarding the slave 
trade.' 'I know that, too,' retorted the king; 'because if my 
master liked that trade, you would have told me so before. I only 
want to hear what you think as a friend : this is not like the other 
palavers.' I was confessedly at a loss for an argument that might 
pass as a satisfactory reason, and the sequel proved that my doubts 
were not groundless. The king did not deem it plausible that this 
obnoxious traffic should have been abolished from motives of 
humanity alone ; neither would he admit that it lessened the number 
either of domestic or foreign wars. 

" Taking up one of my observations, he remarked, * the white 
men who go to council with your master, and pray to the great God 
for him, do not understand my country, or they would not say the 
slave trade was bad. But if they think it bad now, why did they 
think it good before ? Is not your law an old law, the same as the 
Crammo* law ? Do you not both serve the same God, only you have 
different fashions and customs ? Crammoos are strong people in 
fetische, and they say the law is good, because the great God made 
the book ; so they buy slaves, and teach them good things, which 
they knew not before. This makes every body love the Crammoos, 
and they go everywhere up and down, and the people give them 
food when they want it. Then these men come all the way from 
the great water, f and from Manding, and Dagomba, and Killinga ; 
they stop and trade for slaves, and then go home. Tf the great 
king would like to restore this trade, it would be good for the white 
men and for me too, because Ashantee is a country for war, and the 
people are strong ; so that if you talk that palaver for me properly 
in the white country, if you go there, I will give you plenty of gold, 
and I will make you richer than all the white men. 

" I urged the impossibility of the king's request, promising, 
however, to record his sentiments faithfully. ' Well then,' said the 
king, ' you must put down in my master's book all I shall say, and 
then he will look at it, now he is my friend. And when he sees 
what is true, he will surely restore that trade. I cannot make war 
to catch slaves in the bush, like a thief. My ancestors never did so. 



* Moslem law. f Niger. 

E 2 



52 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

But if T fight a king, and kill him, when he is insolent, then cer- 
tainly I must have his gold, and his slaves, and the people are mine 
too. Do not the white kings act like this ? Because I hear the old 
men say, that before I conquered Fantee, and killed the Braffoes and 
the Kings, that white men came in great ships, and fought and killed 
many people ; and then they took the gold and the slaves to the 
white country : and sometimes they fought together. That is all 
the same as these black countries. The great God and the fetische 
made war for strong men everywhere, because then they can pay 
plenty of gold and proper sacrifice. When I fought Gaman, I did 
not make war for slaves ; but because Dinkera (the king) sent me an 
arrogant message and killed my people, and refused to pay me gold, 
as his father did. Then my fetische made me strong like my 
ancestors, and I killed Dinkera, and took his gold, and brought 
more than 20,000 slaves to Coomassie. Some of these people being 
bad men, I washed my stool in their blood for the fetische. But 
then some were good people ; and these I sold or gave to my 
captains : many, moreover, died, because this country does not grow 
too much corn, like Sarem : and what can I do ? unless I kill or 
sell them, they will grow strong and kill my people. Now you 
must tell my master that these slaves can work for him, and if he 
wants 10,000, he can have them. And if he wants fine handsome 
girls and women to give his captains, I can send him great numbers." 
— Dupuis, pp. 163, 164. 

FETISCHE SACRIFICES. RADAGRY. 

After relating the atrocious butchery of two young females, 
wives of the chief, and slaves, merely for having expressed 
themselves freely on some palace proceedings, Lander goes on 
(Vol. II. p. 249) to say — 

" The murder of a slave is not considered even in the light of a 
misdemeanour amongst them ; and the frequency of this crime has 
not only taken away all sense of its enormity, but steeled the breast 
of the multitude against every compassionate feeling ; whilst the 
king and government encourage savage principles and pastimes by 

setting them the example Badagry being a general mart 

for the sale of slaves to the European merchants (who are now 
almost exclusively confined to agents of the Portuguese nation), "it 
not unfrequently happens that the market is either over-stocked with 
human beings, or no buyers are to be found, in which case the 



FETISCHE SACRIFICES. BADAGRY. 



5a 



maintenance of the unhappy slaves devolves solely on the govern- 
ment. The expense incurred by this means is oftentimes murmured 
against by the king, who shortly afterwards causes an examination 
to be made, when the sickly, as well as the old and infirm, are 
carefully selected, and chained by themselves in one of the factories 
(five of which, containing upwards of one thousand slaves of both 
sexes, were at Badagry during my residence there), and next day the 
majority of these poor wretches are pinioned and conveyed to the 
banks of a river that runs up the country, where, having arrived, a 
weight of some sort is appended to their necks, and being rowed in 
canoes to the middle of the stream, are flung into the water and left 
to perish by the pitiless barbarians. Slaves, who for other reasons 
are rejected in the markets, undergo the same punishment, or are 
left to undergo more lively torture at the sacrifices ; by which means 

hundreds of human beings are annually destroyed In the 

private fetische hut of the king Adilee, at Badagry, the skull of that 
monarch's father is preserved in a clay vessel, placed in the earth. 
Human blood, as well as the blood of birds and beasts, is occasionally 
sprinkled on it, and when the king goes to war, the same skull is 
invariably carried with him, with which he frequently converses, and 
gently rebukes it if his success does not happen to answer his 

expectations There is another fetische hut at Badagry, the 

interior of which is positively ornamented with rows of human skulls, 
and other emblems of mortality, whitened by time, and having a 
most terrific appearance. At a short distance from this gloomy hut, 
stands a fetische tree, on the branches of which the headless bodies 
of human beings, slaughtered under them, are invariably suspended. 

" Thieves and other offenders, together with the remnant of un- 
purchased slaves, who are not drowned along with their companions 
in misfortunes and misery, are reserved by the barbarians to be 
sacrificed to their gods, which horrid ceremony takes place at least 
once a month. Prisoners taken in war are also immolated to 
appease the manes of the soldiers of Adilee slain in battle ; and, 
as of all atrocities the manner in which these wretches are slaughtered 
is the most barbarous, it may not, perhaps, be improper or ill-timed 
to give a detailed account of it in this place. Each criminal being 
conducted to the fetische tree, a flask of rum is given him to drink, 
whilst he is in the act of swallowing which a fellow steals im- 
perceptibly behind him, with a heavy club or bludgeon, and inflicts 
a violent blow on the back of the head with the murderous weapon, 
and, as it often happens, dashes out his brains, so that the execu- 



54 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



tioner has no occasion to repeat his stroke. The senseless being is 
then taken to the fetische hut, and a calabash, or gourd, having been 
previously got ready, the head is severed from the trunk with an 
axe, and the smoking blood gurgles into it. Whilst this is in hand, 
other wretches, furnished with knives, &c, cut and mangle the 
body, in order to extract the heart entire from the breast, which 
being done, although it be yet warm and quivering with life, it is 
presented to the king first, and afterwards to his wives and generals, 
who always attend at the celebration of these sacrifices ; and his 
majesty and suite making an incision in it with their teeth, and par- 
taking of the foamy blood, which is likewise offered, the heart is 

exhibited to the surrounding multitude The bleeding heart, 

after being bitten by the king, and his principal wives and head 
men, is affixed to the head of a tall spear, and, with the calabash of 
blood and headless body, paraded through the town and followed 
by hundreds of spearmen and a dense crowd of people. Whoever 
may express an inclination to bite the heart or drink the blood has 
it immediately presented to him for that purpose, the multitude 

dancing and singing What remains of the heart is flung to the 

dogs, and the body, cut in pieces, is stuck on the fetische tree, 
where it is left till wholly devoured by birds of prey. Besides 
these butcheries, they make a grand sacrifice once a year under their 
sacred fetische tree, growing in a wood a few miles from the city. 
These are offered to their malevolent demon, or spirit of evil, at whose 
shrine hundreds of human beings are annually immolated, their 
corpses undergoing the same horrid process as that which has already 
been described ; only, in this instance, they are not removed from the 
spot, but quartered and hung on the gigantic branches of the vene- 
rable tree, and the skulls of the victims suffered to bleach in the 
sun round the trunk of it. By accident I had an opportunity of 
seeing this much talked of tree a day or two only after the cele- 
bration of one of the grand yearly sacrifices, and it was the 

most ghastly and appalling object which I had ever beheld 

We had travelled about seven miles from Badagry, when the so 
much dreaded fetische tree suddenly burst upon our sight, its 
enormous branches literally covered with fragments of human 
bodies, and its majestic trunk surrounded by irregular heaps of 
hideous skulls, which had been suffered to accumulate for many 
years previously. It was standing in the centre of a large piece of 
open ground in the heart of the forest, and was actually the largest 
tree I had ever seen. Thousands of vultures, which had been 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



55 



scared away by our unwelcome intrusion, were yet hovering round 
and over their disgusting food, and now and then pouncing fearlessly 
upon a half-devoured arm or leg. I stood as if fascinated to the 
spot by the influence of a torpedo, and stupidly gazed on the ghastly 
spectacle before me, the huge branches of the fetische tree groaning 
beneath their burden of human flesh and bones, and sluggishly waving 
in consequence of the hasty retreat of the birds of prey ; the in- 
tense and almost insufferable heat of a vertical sun ; the intolerable 
odour of the corrupt corpses ; the heaps of human heads, many of 
them apparently staring at me from hollows which had once sparkled 
with living eyes ; the awful stillness and solitude of the place, dis- 
turbed only by the sighing of the conscious wind through the 
sombre foliage — or, at intervals, by the frightful screaming of vora- 
cious vultures as they flapped their sable wings almost in my face — 
all tended to overpower me; my heart sickened within my bosom, 
a dimness came over my ©yes, my legs refused to support me, and, 
turning my head, I fell senseless into the arms of Jowdie, my faithful 
slave, &c." — Lander, pp. 260, 268. 

THE WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 

Quitting the positions of the places and the high lands 
above noticed, let us, before entering upon the important 
points regarding the countries more into the interior and to- 
wards the sources and course of the Niger, turn to the con- 
sideration of the countries to the north of the Camaranca river, 
including Sierra Leone and the places adjacent. A due con- 
sideration of, and attention to these points is necessary, in 
order to fix more specifically the positions of the high lands 
and minor rivers in the more western parts of Africa, while the 
inquiry will also tend, most eminently, to show the accuracy of 
the positions fixed upon as the sources of the mighty river 
Niger, and the course north-eastward and eastward of that 
important stream through Central Africa. 

Major Laing's journey from Sierra Leone to Fallaba, the 
capital of Soolimana, is, under this division of the subject, the 
first point for consideration. On the 16th of April (the height 
of the dry season), Major Laing and his party left Sierra 
Leone, and, proceeding by Rokon and Roketschik, on the 5th 
of May arrived at Mayosso, situate by chronometer in 1 1° 54' 
W. long., and by reckoning, 8° 28' N. lat. The nature of 



56 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



African travelling will be well understood when the time is 
considered in which Major Laing accomplished this part of his 
journey. From Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Major was nine- 
teen days till he reached Mayosso, during nine days of which 
only he travelled and made good nearly seventy geographical 
miles in direct line, in longitude rather less than eight miles per 
day; the difference of latitude, seven miles, not being worth 
taking into account. At a point a little to the east of Roket- 
schik (8° 30' N. lat., and 12° 11' W. long.), twelve miles 
distant to the south, two eminences appeared, in which were the 
sources of the river Kates, which flows thence W.N.W. and 
enters the sea near the southern boundary of the small territory 
of Sierra Leone. Mayosso is situate on a rising ground on 
the right bank of the Camaranca, or Kabanka river, flowing 
from thence west by south, from fifty to seventy yards broad, 
and so far navigable for canoes. Mabroom, seventy geogra- 
phical miles in a direct line from Freetown, is one day's 
journey, eight miles north of Mayosso, and two miles from the 
village of Mabiss on the Rokelle, there 300 feet broad, very 
deep in the middle, and with a current of three miles per hour. 
From this point the traveller first beholds the Blue Mountains 
of Kouranko to the eastward, and stretching as far as the eye 
can reach in a direction from north to south. One day's 
journey east of Mabroom Major Laing reached Kooloofa, three 
miles south of which was the Kabanka, 200 yards (it should 
be 200 feet) broad, and with very lofty banks. Beyond Koo- 
loofa he came to Seemera, at which place the Kouranka Hills 
commence very high, extending from north to south sixty miles, 
and to the northward running in a north-east direction through 
the Kouranka country, but opening in ridges, running in the 
direction from east to west, through which the rivers and their 
various tributaries direct their course westward to the ocean. 
Kouranka is bounded west by Timanee and the Bullom coast ; 
north by Teembo and Soolimana ; east by Kissikissi, the 
Niger, and unknown countries ; and south, by other countries 
bordering on the Atlantic. Its extent to the eastward is 
great — said to be more than thirty days' journey. Beyond 
Kanato, where the Rokelle was crossed, proceeding north-east 
to Fallaba, it was 100 yards broad, but much flooded. The 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFKICA. 



57 



next town was Kania, situated in 9° 22' N. lat. by observation. 
Proceeding, they came to Konkodoogoree, where they found 
all the surrounding country in a high state of cultivation. 
They next reached Fallaba, the capital of Soolimana, situated in 
9° 49' N. lat. by observation. 

During his progress through the mountainous districts, Major 
Laing everywhere found the land deeply and thickly intersected 
by branches of the Rokelle and the Kabanka, which rivers, 
from the great number of springs in the hills, become, within a 
short space, considerable streams. The country on all hands 
was exceedingly picturesque and beautiful, with a considerable 
population, and also cultivation. The magnitude of the Ro- 
kelle and the Kabanka has been shown at points nearly equal, 
or, it may be said, at equal distances from the ocean ; and the 
former is found to be one-third broader than the latter. This 
fact has been noted, in order to prove that, as their sources and 
their upper courses are in countries, or rather in a country 
corresponding in every respect with each other ; so it is plain 
that the course of the latter must be shorter than that of 
the former, and that the course of the Kabanka, as in Major 
Laing's map, and in the maps hitherto constructed, has been 
laid down from fifty to sixty miles too much to the eastward. 
The source thereof has accordingly been altered, and in doing 
so it will be readily perceived, that it corresponds better with 
the nature of the country, and with the certain sources and the 
course of the Niger in its upper part. The source of the 
Kabanka will therefore be found to be in 9° N. lat., and 10° 18' 
W. long. 

The magnitude also of these rivers, while running so close 
to each other, will enable us to estimate the probable course of 
all the rivers, from the Camaranca eastward to the Assinee; 
and further show, that even had the course of the Upper Niger 
been brought still nearer to the coast than it has been, there 
yet remains ample room for the formation of all the rivers 
mentioned ; for it may be taken as certain, that not one of them 
is equal in magnitude to the Rokelle. 

At its source the Rokelle springs from under a large rock, 
and scatters itself over a bed of red clay, after the manner of 
the bursting of a water-pipe in a street. About 100 yards from 



58 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



this spot it collects into a channel about a foot in breadth, and 
runs off rapidly to SS.E., which course it continues for a few 
miles, and then making a circuitous sweep, it shapes its course 
to the S.W., between Setacolia and Tigiatamba, by which 
time, having received considerable tributary assistance, it 
assumes a respectable appearance, and is (Laing, p. 320) 
barely fordable. From thence it bends its course on the general 
bearing about W.S.W. to the sea at Sierra Leone, not more 
than 200 miles distant. From its mouth it is navigable for boats 
as far as Rokon, and during the rainy season, to a considerable 
distance farther upwards, and by which means Camwood and 
other timber is sometimes floated down it to the sea. Beyond 
the Timanee country to the eastward of Mabung, Major Laing 
entered the country of the Mandingoes, who are all Mahora- 
medans, and, comparatively, an industrious and civilized people. 
The chiefs generally expressed an anxious wish to have a 
regular and steady communication with Europeans, and prof- 
fered every assistance to bring that about. Fallaba contains 
10,000 inhabitants. 

The next part which merits our consideration, is the in- 
teresting journey of De Caille into the interior of Africa ; con- 
fining ourselves for the present to that portion which extends 
from Kacundy on the Rio Nunez unto Cambaya on the Tan- 
kisso. The time occupied by De Caille, in his journey along 
with a caravan of merchants proceeding to the interior, was 
eighteen days, and, as near as can be ascertained from perusing 
his work attentively, 130 hours of active travel. He himself 
estimates the number of English miles that he travelled, and 
allowing the same rate per day for those few days where the 
number is not exactly given, and upon reducing these to geo- 
graphic miles, and protracting his daily course upon the bear- 
ings which he has given, as has in this instance been done, the 
result will place the source of the Baring and Teembo rather to 
the westward of the point where Major Laing's bearings, taken 
at Fallaba, places the latter, and where other authorities have 
placed the source of the stream mentioned. But the difference 
is so small, being only about twenty miles, that the positions in 
which Major Laing has enabled us to fix them, have not been 
altered. In his progress eastward, the march of the caravan 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



59 



with which De Caille was, must necessarily have been exceed- 
ingly slow, and, as he himself states, it really was; because, 
throughout the greater portion thereof, they had to climb over 
high, steep, rugged mountains. De Caille, in his march 
along by the sources of the Rio Nunez, the Rio Pongos, and, 
in fact, of all those rivers which flow into the Atlantic, between 
the Rio Nunez on the north and the Rokelle on the south, 
and to the sources of the Bafing and the Tankisso, gives a very 
interesting account of the country through which he passed. 
He describes it everywhere as peculiarly interesting, pic- 
turesque, and beautiful ; covered with high mountains, amongst 
which are fine fertile valleys, with numerous beautiful streams 
of water, which flow to form the rivers alluded to. The 
inhabitants are principally pastoral Foulahs, who are rigid 
Mahommedans, but who, with the exception of the acrimony 
which the tenets of that faith give to the mind of its votaries 
against those of a different faith, especially the Christian faith, 
seem to be a simple and kind people. The Tanklita he describes 
as the parent stream of the Rio Nunez, and the Kakiriman, near 
Pandayah, as the river named Rio Pongos. Where he crossed 
it, its bed was from seventy to eighty paces broad, with a very 
rapid current, and the water in it at the end of April nearly up 
to their waists. Eastward he passed the Coucola, a beautiful 
stream from forty to fifty paces broad, the water in which came 
up to their knees ; it runs amongst high hills, the same as all 
the neighbouring streams do, forming beautiful cascades. The 
course of the Doulinco is described as particularly beautiful, 
and from Kacundy he had not, he states, seen so beautiful 
and fertile a tract of country as that around its banks. " In- 
stead of rocks, I now beheld on every side delightful plains, 
which required only the labour of the husbandman to produce 
every thing necessary for human life." The hill of Loma, near 
Dougue, he says, is 600 paces high, and to the westward, and 
in the neighbourhood of the town of Lantague, is a range of 
mountains called Lantague, each of which rises perpendicularly 
to the height of nearly 1200 feet, and they exhibit scarcely any 
trace of vegetation. To the east of the village of Lantague, 
some of the mountains in the range rise to the height of 2400 
feet above the level of the plain, but without any snow being 



60 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



seen upon them. In the neighbourhood of Bafila, not far from 
the Bafing and its sources, the appearance of the country, says 
De Caille, was such, <{ that I might almost fancy that I was in 
a fairy land" (vol. i. p. 197). The land is generally fertile 
and well cultivated, abounding with towns, villages, and 
population, a number of whom follow the pastoral life ; they 
are nearly all Mahommedans. Pandeyah, and the country 
about Lantague and some distance to the eastward, forms the 
country called Irnanke, which country lays to the west of 
Foota Jallon and to the east of Kakundy. It has on the north 
side the negroes who inhabit the country of Cassemanka, and 
on the south the Timanee negroes, who occupy a tract of 
country not far from Sierra Leone. Irnanke is covered with 
lofty mountains, and the population thereof are pastoral Fou- 
lahs, part of a nation which has, of late years, overspread, or 
rather overrun, Western Africa. 

The next point for consideration is the most western portion 
of inhabited and cultivated Africa, through which the larger 
rivers, Senegal, Gambia, &c. flow. Park's Travels, together 
with those which the corrections from Mollien, De Caille, and 
other authorities, as well as the corrections which a greater 
degree of attention to Park's Travels themselves enable us to 
gather, will place this portion of Africa pretty correctly before 
us. But it may here be simply observed, that the corrections 
made, agree in a most surprising and satisfactory manner, when 
checked and compared with the journeys of other travellers who 
have penetrated into the interior of Africa in various and oppo- 
site directions. But to proceed to the minute details and survey 
of this the most western portion of Africa, called by the Africans 
dwelling upon the upper and the middle course of the Niger, 
The Land of the West, or, " Land of the Setting Sun." The 
Bafing, or Senegal river, becomes the first' object of attention. 
The Tankisso, which was formerly believed, and which Mol- 
lien set down as its parent stream, has been found to have no 
connexion whatever with it, but to be a mighty tributary to the 
Joliba. The Bafing, or, as the word signifies, Black River, or 
real Senegal, rises at a short distance to the west of the source 
of the Tankisso, and about twenty-five miles to the W.N.W. 
of Teembo. Where De Caille crossed it in his route to Cam- 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



61 



baya, the stream'was about 100 feet wide, and a foot or eighteen 
inches deep, the current rapid, and the bed very rocky. . Its 
course, for a short distance from its source, is eastward, under 
the name of Gangore, but it quickly turns to the N.E., and 
then to the north, which is the general bearing of its course 
for nearly 300 miles. Its bed, to a considerable distance 
from its source, is almost a sheet of foam, from the rapidity 
with which it flows amongst the rocks which interrupt its 
stream. 

The mountains to the east of the Baflng are lofty, and, seen 
from the west, extend further than the eye can reach in the 
direction from north-east to south-west. The country to the 
west of these mountains is an elevated plain, well wa- 
tered, fruitful, and populous. The country of Fouta Jallon is a 
very remarkable country. " Walking over these districts," says 
Mollien, " the earth resounds under your feet ;" and, what is 
singular, Laing found the same thing round the sources of the 
Rokelle. A short distance from the source of the Baring, to 
the north, are found the springs of the Rio Grande and the 
Gambia rivers. They rise very close to each other ; the Rio 
Grande flowing in a winding course on the general bearing of 
west into the Atlantic, after a course of about 300 miles. It 
is a considerable stream, and near Faran is several hundred feet 
broad. The Gambia flows first east, then north-east, then north ; 
afterwards it turns, and, upon a general bearing, pursues a 
winding course towards the west, entering the Atlantic Ocean in 
about 13° 30' N. lat f The length of its course on the general 
bearings is about 400 geographical miles, and though a consi- 
derable, it is by no means a first-rate river ; for at Teleecorra, 
half-way betwixt Madina and the Narico, or at the spot named 
by Park, 61 Walters Well," it is only 100 yards broad, and so 
far the tide flows up it. The country towards its source is 
more romantic than in its lower course. In its early course it 
meanders through a rich country ; the soil on both sides is of 
an alluvial formation, and astonishingly fertile. The banks are 
adorned with trees of the greatest beauty, and both rice and 
tobacco are cultivated in the upland districts around it to a 
great extent. 

From Foota Jallon, the country where it springs, the Bafing, 



62 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



or Senegal, pursues its course northwards through Dentilia, 
first about NN.E., and next about NN.W., until it approaches 
very nearly 15 of N. lat., where it turns, first west, next 
north-west, and then again west by Podor, and from thence 
W.S.W., till it flows into the Atlantic at St. Louis, the capital 
of the French colony of Senegal. For nearly sixty miles the 
stream flows due south at a very short distance from the sea ; in 
fact, during all that distance, a sand bank only intervenes be- 
tween the sea and the river, which sand-bank, extending by 
degrees, has been thrown up by, as it were, the contention 
betwixt the sea and the river. From the S.E. it is joined near 
the fifteenth parallel by the Faleme, and from the eastward, 
and near the parallel of 14°, by the Balee (Honey River), on 
the west side, and by the considerable river the Kokoro, formed 
by the union of several powerful streams on the east. Several 
other streams join it more to the southward; and several more 
from the south and from the east run to form the Kokoro, such 
as the Ba Wonda, the Comeissang, and the Ba Woolima (Red 
River), and the Ba Woolli. The Furkama and the Boki flow 
to the Bafing. The Ba Woolli springs in the hills to the north- 
ward of Bammakoo, and the Kokoro rises to the south-west of 
Kamalia. Where Mr. Park crossed the Kokoro, on his return 
in his first journey, he found it a stream only sufficient to turn a 
mill ; this was in the month of April, the very height of the dry 
season ; but the marks on its banks indicated a rise of twenty 
feet during the rains. The Ba Wonda, &c, are smaller rivers 
in this part of their courses, which shows that these courses 
from the southward are very short. The Faleme, where Park 
crossed it in the same journey, and during the same season, was 
easily forded, being only two feet deep, but found running 
rapidly over a bed of sand and gravel. Where he crossed the 
Bafing at the same period, it was found very deep, but with 
scarcely any current ; and its breadth may be judged by the fact, 
that it is there crossed by a bridge, constructed by bending two 
tall trees on the opposite banks till they meet, when they are 
fastened together. This temporary bridge is yearly swept 
away by the floods, and yearly replaced when these subside. 
The point where the passage is thus effected was in about 12° 
48' N. lat., and the point where the Faleme was crossed lay in 



WESTERN DIVISISION OF AFRICA. 



63 



about 18° N. lat., and its sources were stated to be only a few 
days' journey to the south-east. 

In his second journey, Park crossed the two latter streams, 
the Faleme about twenty, and the Baring about forty miles 
more to the north, and this second time also at the close of the 
dry season. The Ba Faleme he found, June 8th, a little 
discoloured by the rains, to the south — its current, four knots 
per hour, and its sources said to be distant six days' journey to 
the south-east. Of the magnitude of this stream at this point, 
we have no further account, but that which is furnished in his 
first journey, when he crossed it nearly in the 15th parallel, 
December 20th, very early in the dry season, and which enables 
us to ascertain this point satisfactorily. Then, its current was 
rapid, the depth up to the knees on horseback, and the bed 
rocky. In his second journey, he found the Ba Lee not 
sensibly swelled, and easily stepped across it from rock to rock, 
which proves that its course is not so far to the southward as 
the source of the Ba Faleme. The latitude, where it was 
crossed at the time adverted to, was 13° 35' N. The Bafing, 
in the same journey, he found risen about two feet, a proof of 
its remote southern source, where the rains commence early, 
for as yet there had been no rain in that parallel, 13° 27' N. 
The river is described as large and navigable; the current, 
then in the middle of June, three knots per hour. Where he 
crossed the stream, December 28th, on his first journey, about 
ninety miles more to the northward, 14° 30' N. lat., he found 
it, as he says, a beautiful but shallow river, the banks about 
forty feet high, and in breadth like the river Tweed at Melross. 
Above Kayee, where he at this time crossed it, about five miles 
and a half, there is a considerable cataract called Felow ; and 
thirty miles higher up, is the fall or cataract called Govinea, 
still larger than the other ; but westward from Kayee, the bed 
of the river is composed of sand and gravel. A little below 
this place, the Senegal is joined by a narrow but deep stream 
called the Krieko, which rises in the range of hills to the 
eastward of Kooniakary, the capital of Casson. At Podor, 
the Senegal, after the junction of all its tributaries, is about 
one thousand English feet broad, and twenty-four feet deep, 
the tide proceeding some distance above this place. 



64 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Proceeding on his second journey from the Banng, Park 
came to the Ba Wonda, 14° N. lat., which he found, July 4th, 
swelled from the rains to the southward about two feet, shallow 
and rocky, and, he adds, " it cannot, even in its present state, 
be called a large river." The rainy season had now begun in 
earnest, and all the streams he next came to were very much 
swollen. The Kokoro, called Balee by mistake, was the next 
which he reached, in 14° l'N. lat. ; it ran with great velocity, 
and broke into small cataracts. He next came to the Ba 
Wooiima, in latitude 13° 41' N., here from fifty to sixty feet 
broad, but swelled to the depth of twenty feet. Lastly, he 
came to the Ba Woolli, in 13° 16' N. lat, a stream exactly 
similar to the other. In the intermediate space between the 
two last-named rivers, he passed smaller streams running to the 
westward, but all clearly of very short courses, which determines 
the high grounds to the eastward to be not far distant. 

It has been found necessary to be thus particular about these 
rivers, in order to point out to the reader the facts which the 
evidence they afford establishes, namely, that with the excep- 
tion of the Bafing, none of them have courses of any great 
length; while from the scale of magnitude which they give, we are 
better enabled to determine not only the greater distances than 
those that have hitherto been supposed of the more remote sources 
of the Niger, but the probable distance from Courouasso of its 
main stream, subsequently to be mentioned, as all these streams 
flow from countries in every respect similarly situated to those 
countries which give birth to the Senegal, Gambia, &c. All 
this portion of Africa, in the upper part of these rivers, is very 
mountainous and rugged, but in many places has a good soil 
and is fertile ; large quantities of gold dust are also found in 
various places, in the hills and about the streams, in Bambouk 
and Mandingo. The mountains to the north-west of Fobea 
are very high, and those to the eastward are still higher, and 
the east wind blowing over them is felt exceedingly cold. On 
the summit of Tangue (10|° N. lat.), the air is so keen that 
exposure to the sun is sought at noon-day; and near Bourre 
and Bandeia, the air, from the great elevation, is so pure that 
Mollien found respiration to be difficult. The principal chain of 
hills runs north to the eastward of the Bafing, passing east of 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



65 



Kamalia, and west of Kancaba to Bammakoo. Beyond this, 
the ridges run — one eastward to the northward of Maraboo, 
until approaching the neighbourhood of Yamina, where it sinks 
into the level country ; another ridge runs northward by the 
sources of the Ba Woolli, separating into two chains, one 
running N.E. to the high mountains (12,000 feet) south of Walet 
(Beeroo), and the other W.N.W. not far distant from the Ba 
Woolima, till approaching the meridian of Benowm, they run 
north to the eastward of that place, finally sinking and dis- 
appearing in the Great Desert. 

It is necessary here generally to state that all the west coast 
of Africa to the southward of the Great Desert, but especially 
about the mouths of the rivers, is low, very marshy, and 
swampy, and consequently exceedingly unhealthy for Europeans. 
This is particularly the case at Sierra Leone, and about the 
mouth of the Gambia. The English settlement at the latter 
place, called Bathurst-town, is founded amidst surrounding 
swamps, and on a sand and mud bank scarcely rising above the 
surface of the river. The country, also, in all the lowlands in this 
quarter of Africa, including almost all the country which goes 
by the name of Senegambia, is by no means so fine, so fertile, 
or so well cultivated as the countries in the interior : nor is the 
population thereof so intelligent and industrious as the popula- 
tion more inland. 

This western portion of central Africa has, till very lately, 
been extended in all maps much too far to the eastward, even 
more than 5° of longitude. Mr. John iVrrowsmith alone 
perceived and corrected this error : the consequences of 
which had been, that the upper course of the Niger, Lake 
Dibbie, and Timbuctoo, have been laid down about 5° (300 
geographical miles) too much to the eastward. These errors, 
as has already been mentioned, were made and perpetuated by 
too great distances being allowed for the day's journey made by 
Park and other travellers. 

Pisania also, the point from whence Mr. Park started, was 
laid down a great deal too far to the eastward. The late 
accurate survey of the west coast of Africa has placed Pisania 
2° 1' to the eastward of the flag-staff of Bathurst-town, at the 
mouth of the Gambia, and consequently in 14° 40' W. long. 



66 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



from Greenwich. As regards African travelling, it is here 
necessary to observe that a few miles each day is the very 
utmost that any European can make out in a protracted journey. 
Park, as it may be observed, sometimes travelled only four or 
five miles in a day. De Caille frequently did not travel more; 
and the latter tells us, that even when travelling at the rate of 
only six miles a day in continuation, he found himself scarcely 
able to move. 

The time taken by Park, namely sixty-eight days, really 
occupied in daily travelling, shows the slow progress of African 
travelling under such circumstances. The time calculated, or 
rather taken by the natives, who always travel during the dry 
season, in a journey from Madina, the capital of the kingdom 
of Woolli, on the banks of the Gambia, to Sego, the capital of 
Bambarra, on the banks of the Niger, is thirty-six days. The 
distance in a direct line is 450 miles, or at the rate of about 
twelve and a half geographical miles per day. The time stated in 
Mr. Park's journey last alluded to, would give for the distance 
eight and a half geographical miles per day, made good in the 
general bearing ; which is the utmost that can be allowed for 
African travelling in the mountainous countries during the 
rains. 

Park states that Boure is six days' journey by water from 
Bammakoo; and this time, the old schoolmaster who came 
from Kammalia to meet him took to perform the journey. 
He also states that Jarra lay N.W. from Kammalia, distant 
about ten days' journey. From Benowm to Walet, the capital 
of Beeroo, he states that water was not wanting on the 
journey, a proof that the route betwixt the two places was 
beyond the limits of the pure desert; while from Walet to 
Timbuctoo, it was stated to him that water was found more 
abundantly, a proof that that route lay through a cultivated 
country. Walet, he states, lay nearly in the line of the bearing 
from Benowm to Timbuctoo. 

With respect to the distances travelled by Park, and con- 
sequently the positions of places, in a most important but the 
least determined part of his route during his first journey, we 
have some curious information ; and a good check furnished by 
consulting the journal of Isaaco, the person who acted as his 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



guide from the Gambia to Sansanding during his second 
journey. The same individual was sent by Mr. Maxwell, 
the governor of Senegal, from that place, in 1810, to inquire 
after the fate of his former master. That part of Isaaco's 
journal from Kooniakary to Yamina on the banks of the Joliba, 
is considered sufficient to advert to for the object at present 
under consideration. The distance from Kooniakary, the 
capital of Kasson, to Yamina took him twenty-five days (184 
hours) daily travel, in the month of July and part of the 
month of August, and consequently in the worst portion of the 
rainy season. His route lay more to the south than that taken 
by Park in his first journey, yet in the middle part thereof, he 
could not have been far distant from it. There is no town, the 
name of which he gives, that we can recognise as any of those 
that Park passed through, except Wassiba, which sounds like 
Wassiboo ; but as Isaaco reached Wassiba on the sixth day 
after leaving Kooniakary, it could scarcely be the Wassiboo of 
Park, hitherto laid down as distant from the former capital 
135 miles to the east, too much for six days' journey, even by 
an individual native traveller ; but, on the other hand, if the 
place should be the same, the Wassiboo of Park, it would 
establish the fact, that Kooniakary and Wassibo are not so far 
from each other as even Mr. Arrowsmith conceived them to be 
when he constructed his last map of Africa, and which con- 
sequently go to restrict the distance between Pisania and Sego, 
and to confirm the propriety and accuracy of the reduced scale 
given to the journeys performed by Mr. Park, and the accuracy 
of the positions which have been assigned to the bed of the 
upper Niger and the towns on that part of its banks, settled 
from these and from other authorities. From Wassiboo to 
Sego Mr. Park was ten days (about 100 hours), while from 
Wassiba to Yamina, Isaaco was, as nearly as can be gained 
from his journal, nineteen days (143 hours). The two places, 
therefore, can scarcely be the same, the journey of both in these 
parts being performed at a corresponding period of the year, 
and it may be said, by travellers equally unencumbered, except 
that Mr. Park, under the circumstances in which he was placed, 
was compelled to travel at a quicker rate than Isaaco had 
occasion to do. 

f 2 



68 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



To the east of Kooniakary Isaaco crossed five rivers, and 
afterwards on the third day, he climbed over a ridge of high 
mountains, unto their eastern base. The rivers or streams 
here mentioned, no doubt, join the Krieko. On the 6th day, 
and between Geocha and Wassiba, he crossed seven rivulets, 
after having travelled forty-one hours from Kooniakary. On the 
tenth day (sixty-nine hours from Kooniakary) he crossed a 
small river, and afterwards a large forest, situated to the east 
of the village of Amadi-Fatuma-Bougou. On the thirteenth 
day, and at five hours' journey from Giangounde, he came to 
lakes Chouava and Ferrinee, which are never dry, and after- 
wards, nearer Giangounde, he came to another lake. Beyond 
Giongay five hours' journey, he, on the fifteenth day, crossed 
Lake Sorme. At Magnacora, on the seventeenth day, he saw 
some fine round palm-trees, and a fine doualle-tree. Here 
at a distance of 129 hours' journey from Kooniakary, there is 
a river, and at a little distance from Magnacoro there is a 
cataract in it ; but this cataract is not so great as the cataract 
of Feloups (the Felou supposed) on the Senegal. On the 
eighteenth day, and before coming to Sirecamie, situated 
between two mountains, he crossed two small rivulets ; and 
near Serboosa he passed a fountain, and next a large lake. 
Gangare, to which he came on the 22d day, is also situated 
on a large and beautiful lake. At this place he met a caravan 
coming from Kankary, and proceeding northwards for Benowm 
and Morocco. On the twenty-fifth day (184 hours) from 
Kooniakary, he reached Yamina, on the banks of the Joliba, 
where he had formerly rested with Mr. Park. From Yamina 
he went in a canoe by water to Sego, which latter place he 
reached in from thirteen to fourteen hours. 

It has been considered necessary to be thus particular with 
Isaaco's narrative, both as proving a check upon the distances 
travelled, and the positions as fixed from the travels of 
Mr. Park, and also as it tends to show the physical features 
of this portion of Africa. From Kooniakary to Yamina is 
250 geographical miles, which would give ten geographical 
miles per day as the distance which Isaaco travelled, and made 
good on the general bearing, after allowing stoppages, and every 
circumstance considered, nothing certainly can be added, while 



WESTERN DIVISION OF AFRICA. 



G9 



this is probably too great. From Yamina to Sego, admitting 
that he travelled or sailed at the rate of five knots per hour, 
and throwing off" one quarter of the distance so travelled for 
the windings of the stream, the distance between the two 
places in a direct line cannot be more than fifty geographical 
miles, which will be ten miles less than even the most re- 
stricted allowance hitherto taken has given it. 

The route which Isaaco travelled in his journey just alluded 
to probably — nay, certainly lies along the eastern base of the 
range of hills which approach very near the northern banks of 
the Ba Woolli and the Ba Woolima rivers. The small river, 
therefore, which Isaaco crossed near Magnacoro, and eight 
days' journey from Yamina, is probably the parent stream of 
the river which enters Lake Dibbie from the west, and the 
rivulets beyond Satile which Park alludes to, are in all pro- 
bability some of its tributary streams. It is clear from the 
journal of his second voyage, that those cannot, and do not 
run to the westward. 

That elevated land approaches near the banks of the Ba 
Woolli, we have invincible proofs from Park's narrative. 
During his second journey, at five miles east of Numma- 
salou (east of the Ba Woolima fifteen miles), he passed a small 
stream flowing S.E. During the preceding day it had been 
deeply flooded, but the water had then subsided, and was 
only eighteen inches deep. A short distance to the east of 
this, and at the town of Sobee, he came to another river, 
running SS.W., so deep, that the bundles and baggage were 
obliged to be carried over on men's heads. The asses were 
made to swim over. He reached this stream immediately 
after heavy rains. Shortly after crossing it, they reached 
Balinding. Ballandoo, next come to, was 'four miles E. by 
S. of Balinding, and from the former place to the Ba Woolli 
was two good days' journey. A few hours after leaving 
Ballendoo, Park crossed a small stream running S.E., and 
one and a half hour after crossed the same stream running 
E. by N. the banks of which were steep and slippery, 
and gave them much trouble. Six hours' travel beyond Ba 
Woolli, crossed a stream running west, the water up to the 
middle, and four hours' travel further came to another small 



70 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



stream, with very steep broken clayey banks, and beyond 
which was the town of Koomi-Koomi. It was during the 
heaviest of the rainy season that Park crossed all these streams, 
and their then magnitude and the direction of their currents, 
showed that they were mere mountain torrents and tributaries 
of the Ba Woolli, and consequently, also, that they could have 
no connexion nor communication with the rivers which Isaaco 
erossed at least sixty miles further to the eastward, and on the 
east side of the range of mountains from whence the Ba 
Woolli flows. 

Isaaco in his journal gives a very favourable picture of this 
portion of Africa, extending from Kooniakary to Yamina. 
It is populous, fertile, and well watered, instead of being, as it 
has hitherto been considered to be, composed of barren deserts 
or impenetrable forests. Mr. Park gives us a similar account 
of this portion of the country in his first journey. At Wassiboo, 
he says, (p. 183,) cultivation was carried on to such an extent 
that, as the natives themselves expressed it, " hunger is never 
known." Beyond Satile, the country he states "was very 
beautiful, abounding with rivulets which were increased by 
the rains into rapid streams." At Moorja, corn was very 
abundant ; and some days before he reached Sego, he found 
the roads covered with people, either going to or returning 
from the Sego market, amongst which he one day met a 
caravan of merchants, with seventy slaves, going by Benowm 
to be sold in Morocco. The following additional observations 
by Mr. Park regarding the countries to the south of Benowm 
are worthy of attention. rt East of Kooniakary," says Park, 
te January 26th, in the afternoon, I went to the top of a high 
hill, southward of Soolo, where I had a most enchanting pro- 
spect of the country. The number of towns and villages and 
the extensive cultivation around them surpassed every thing 
I had yet seen in Africa." The country was very populous. 
(First Journey, p. 86.) Again he proceeds, " February 4th, 
departed from Soomo, and continued our route along the 
banks of the Krieko, which are everywhere well cultivated, and 
swarm with inhabitants," (p. 87.) Again he says, at Kanjee, 
" the Krieko is here but a small rivulet : this beautiful stream 
takes its rise a little to the eastward of this town, and descends 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



71 



with a rapid and noisy current until it reaches the bottom of 
the high hill called Tappa, where it becomes more placid, and 
thence it winds gently through the lovely plains of Kooniakary ; 
after which, having received an additional branch from the 
north, it is lost in the Senegal, somewhere near the falls 
of Felow." 

THE NIGER OR JOLIBA, AND ITS TRIBUTARY STREAMS. 

The most important and the most interesting portions of the 
geography of Africa remain to be considered, namely, the 
course of the mighty river Niger and his numerous tributary 
streams, and the termination of that great river in the Atlantic. 
The position of Fallaba, of the sources of the Rokelle, and 
also of Teembo, having been fixed with considerable accuracy 
by Major Laing, the sources of the Niger are the next objects 
requiring attention. By a series of bearings taken by him 
near Fallaba, and also from the hill where the Rokelle has its 
source, the hill of Loma, where the western branch springs, 
(it is said western branch, because it will speedily be shown 
that there is an eastern and much more important branch,) 
lays in 9° 18' N. lat. and 9° 42' W. long. ; the elevation about 
1600 feet above the level of the Atlantic. The spring on this 
hill is said to be about one foot and a half in circumference. 
The stream which issues therefrom bends its course N. for 
a considerable distance, and afterwards to the N.E. The 
name of this stream, which issues from the hill of Loma, is 
called Teembie, which, in the language of that country, signi- 
fies water. The accounts which Major Laing received at 
Fallaba regarding the source of the Niger were various. Some 
said it was three days' journey, some six days' journey, and 
some twelve days' journey distant from Fallaba, according, it is 
presumed, as the time relates to the sources of the different 
branches to which the different informants alluded. From 
Kowia, a town on a branch of the Niger or the Joliba, called 
Falico, is three days' journey to Fallaba west; and from Kowia 
to the source of the stream in the hill of Loma is three days' 
(thirty-two hours') journey. Northward of Fallaba the moun- 
tains rise very high. Major Laing calls those in which the 
river Munga springs, " lofty hills ;" and to the northward of 



72 



GKOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Teembo, the mountains round the early course of the Baring, 
as has already been shown, rise to a still greater elevation. 
From Fallaba the fine country of Kissi-kissi bore, by compass, 
from SS.E. to E.S.E. ; the country of Sangara from E.S.E, 
to E.N.E., and the country of Kouranka from SS.E. to S.W. 

According to Dupuis, (pp. xci. and xcii.) the real springs of 
the Joliba rise in a high mountainous chain, about eighteen 
days' journey to the west of Kong, and thirty-eight days' 
journey from Coomassie. From Kong, the country westward, 
during the space of six days' journey, rises, but not very 
abruptly: afterwards the traveller commences ascending a 
chain of lofty mountains, extending throughout a period of six 
days' journey. These mountains are said to be bleak and 
barren, inhabited only half-way up, and so high and steep that 
no one can ascend to their summits, which are moreover 
covered with snow. When Mollien was in Foota Jallon (see 
p. 242) he received similar information, viz. that there were 
mountains to the S.E. or in those parts under our considera- 
tion, always covered with snow. Amidst this mighty range 
springs the great river Joliba, and is here known under the 
name of the Ahmar, or the River of Savages, as the African 
Mahommedans designate it. Dupuis was farther informed by 
the Mahommedans of Kong and Mandingo, that the sources 
of the Joliba were " behind their country," that is, to the 
southward of it. Numerous branches flow from the ridge 
mentioned, first westward, next north-westward, then north- 
erly, and next to the N.E., through the valleys of Ganowa, 
Maly, and the country of Bambarra. Until clearing the 
mountains on the south, the bed of the Ahmar or Joliba has, 
like the beds of its tributary streams, many cataracts. The 
source of its principal stream is laid down in 5° 40' W. long, 
and 7° 54' N. lat., which is still further west than the distances 
given by Dupuis would indicate ; but this position agrees ex- 
actly, or very nearly indeed, with the apparent direction of the 
ridge or chain running south-westward to Cape Palmas. It is 
remarkable that from this position, Ptolemy, d'Anville, d' Lisle, 
the maps by Robert d'Vaugondy, and old Dutch charts, bring 
a river running, first westward, then northwards, and thence 
N.E. called Guinola by the three latter authorities, while 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



73 



Ptolemy mistook it for the parent stream of one of his rivers 
in western Africa, the Rio Grande, or Gambia. The features 
of the country ; the fact that on the sea-coast, westward from 
the Assinee to the Rokelle, or, it may be said, to the Rio 
Grande, no river of any importance enters the Atlantic ; and 
the fact of the great magnitude of the Joliba and his early 
tributaries, at points just to be alluded to ; render the position 
assigned to its most distant stream quite certain. 

In lat. 10° 18' N. and in long. 9° 18' W. from Greenwich, 
the Joliba passes Courouassa, coming from the S.W., or, allow- 
ing for the variation, about SS.W. At this point, on the 11th 
June, De Caille, when he crossed it, found the stream 900 French 
(nearly 1000 British) feet broad, the depth 9 feet, and the current 
from 2| to 3 knots per hour. This, be it borne in mind, was 
the magnitude of the river at the period mentioned; immedi- 
ately after the commencement of the rains in the mountainous 
districts, and before, as regards either breadth or depth, it 
was at all affected by them. In fact, in those districts, from 
Cambaya to the J oliba, there had been no rain of any conse- 
quence : while it is necessary to observe, that such is the state 
of aridity to which every part of Africa, even the mountainous 
districts, are brought by the dry season ; so greatly are the 
springs and streams everywhere dried up from the same cause ; 
that although the rains begin from the end of May, (for two or 
three weeks after their commencement they are not, however, 
very violent,) yet such is the dryness of the earth, and such 
the rapid advance of all vegetation as soon as they do commence^ 
that for several weeks they are absorbed almost as quickly as 
they fall, and without in the slightest degree affecting the 
streams that are of any magnitude. It is necessary to bear 
this in mind, in order to show that the Joliba, at the point 
mentioned, was not increased, or certainly but very little in- 
creased, from the effect of rains, and therefore that De Caille 
saw the stream almost at its very lowest point of depression. 
The place where he crossed the stream has been carefully 
ascertained by protracting his daily course from Kakundy, and 
from Cambaya to Courouassa (connected with the positions, as 
determined by Major Laing), viz. Fallaba and Teembo, &c. 
The magnitude of the Joliba at this point, therefore, may 



74 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



fairly be taken as a proper scale to estimate the distance of its 
more remote sources, and also, as we shall by-and-by see, to 
estimate the early courses and distant sources of other African 
rivers. From the hill of Loma to Courouassa the distance is 
only sixty geographical miles, with the certainty that no river 
of any magnitude does join or can join the Joliba from the 
westward in that space, which distance it is scarcely necessary 
to observe is by far too little to afford room for the formation 
of a river of the magnitude which we find the Joliba to be at 
Courouassa; while, as has been shown, it is limited as to 
space from receiving supplies from the south, and, as we shall 
presently see, it is so also on the north. From the point in 
which the main source has been placed to Courouassa, is about 
300 geographical miles. On turning to the Bafing, which 
rises and runs through a country in every respect similarly 
situated, and after its having received numerous tributaries, 
deriving their sources from the same country as the parent 
stream, we yet find this river, after having traversed a space 
still greater, or at least equally great as the Joliba, scarcely 
more than half the magnitude of the latter river at the points 
so often mentioned. It requires, therefore, no further observa- 
tion or comment to show, that the principal sources of the Joliba 
must, at least, be as far to the eastward as the point where they 
have been placed, and that the accounts which Dupuis received 
at Coomassie regarding its real sources are substantially correct. 

From Courouassa the Joliba pursues its course for a few miles 
nearly E., when it turns in a direction generally N.E. At the 
distance of five days' journey by canoe, the Joliba receives from 
the S.W. near Boure, the Tankisso, which rises to the N.W. 
of Timboo and passes Cambaya, as has previously been stated. 
According to Mr. Park, Boure is four days' journey S.W. of 
Kammalia, and is a place very famous in Africa for the abundance 
and purity of its gold. Above the junction of the Tankisso, the 
Joliba receives a considerable river from the S.E. named the 
Milo, and another named the Linn. Pursuing its course north- 
wards, the Joliba receives, near Kancaba on the east side, a large 
navigable branch called the Sarano or Kankary, and very proba- 
bly at this point a small stream from the S.W. Proceeding N.E. 
the Joliba reaches Bammakoo, lat. 12° 48' N., and 7° W.long. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



75 



Here Park in his second journey came to the stream, and found 
it, in the month of August, at which period it was in high flood, 
one British mile broad, and at the rapids, a short distance to the 
northward of that place, the stream was two miles broad ; still 
the river had in no part overflowed its banks. Bammakoo is 
six to eight days' journey by water from Boure ; De Caille says 
seven or eight days' ; Park's African schoolmaster says, that he 
made out the distance in six days, this being early in August. 
The rapids here alluded to, are occasioned by a chain of hills 
through which the river bursts to the west of Marraboo, and 
which run N. on the one side, and S.E. on the south side of the 
river. From Bammakoo the Joliba pursues a course about 
E.N.E., passing first Marraboo, then Yamina, then Sego, situ- 
ated in 13° 10' N. lat., and 5° 35' W. long., and from thence 
in a N.E. direction, past Sansanding and Silla to Jinne. About 
half way betwixt Marraboo and Yamina, the Joliba receives 
from the N. a small river called the Frina, which has its source 
in the chain of hills to the N. of Maraboo, which gave birth to 
the Ba Woolli. In passing down the stream from Marraboo 
to Yamina, Mr. Park was greatly struck with its magnitude, 
and designates it, in this part of its course, as a much greater 
river than either the Senegal or the Gambia near their junction 
with the sea. Isaaco, in his journal, also remarks that the river 
below Yamina " was very broad." 

From Courouassa Mr. De Caille pursued his journey about 
E.S.E. to Time, situated in 9° 17/ N. lat. and 6° 45' W. long. 
About twenty-eight miles on this bearing from Courouassa the 
traveller crossed the Yendan, a stream, though then scarcely 
moved by the rains, about half the breadth of the Joliba, with 
a current at the rate of three miles an hour. It flowed to 
the north, and joined the Joliba three days' journey distant. 
From the Yendan, thirty-six miles east, is Kankan, a town, 
the capital of the province of that name, near which, on the 
east side, is the river Milo, still larger than the Yendan, and 
coming from the southward. This river is broad, deep, and 
navigable for vessels drawing six or seven feet water. It 
must be observed, however, that when De Caille crossed this 
river, it was a good deal flooded. It comes from the south, 
runs N.E. from Kankan, and then turning north-westward, it 



76 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



flows into the Joliba, five days' journey by water distant from 
the town just mentioned. The canoes on this river are fifty 
feet long, which is double the size of those used for crossing 
the Joliba. Six days' journey south of Kankan is the beauti- 
ful country of Kissi-kissi, which is very mountainous, but very 
fertile, and abounding with streams, the population of which 
are all Pagans, Forty-two miles beyond Kankan is Deicouro, 
a considerable town. Between the Milo and this town De Caille 
crossed no fewer than eight large streams, all running to the 
Joliba, and which in their progress probably join the river 
Linn, which flows past Deicouro, one mile to the east. Two 
miles from the river Linn is the large river Sarano, which 
comes from the south, and pursues a circuitous course past the 
town of Kankary to the Joliba, near Kankaba. The Sarano, 
where De Caille crossed it, was from eight to nine feet deep, 
with a current of two miles and a half per hour. It is navi- 
gable from thence the whole way by Kankary to the Joliba. 
From the Sarano to Time De Caille crossed several small 
streams, but none of any magnitude, except the Oulada, near 
Sambatiklia, which, though not very wide, was so deep as not 
to be fordable. All these streams bend their course N.E. 
Immediately to the eastward of Time a chain of hills, 2000 feet 
high, run in a direction from north to south. The country 
round Time is intersected by numerous small streams. From 
Time Mr. De Caille pursued his journey in a direction about 
NN.E. to Jinne. Immediately beyond the chain of moun- 
tains just mentioned, the traveller fell in with another of equal 
height. The land in all this part of Africa is greatly elevated, 
for De Caille found in the month of December, at Time, the 
cold so keen as to render both constant fires and warm clothing 
requisite. Proceeding onwards De Caille crossed several small 
streams, some of them knee deep, in the month of January, all 
bending their course for the Joliba. In his route he passed 
Tangrera, no doubt the Teng-gera of Mr. Park, a village of 
considerable commercial importance, and in the neighbourhood 
of which are several villages called Jeuille villages, also men- 
tioned by Mr. Park, and which tend to settle clearly the 
positions of both Baedoo and Maniana. At a distance of 
ninety miles from Time, Mr. De Caille crossed the great river 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



77 



Bagoe, or White River, which is about as wide as the Milo 
at Kankan. The stream even at that season of the year was 
very deep, navigable, and the current one knot and a half per 
hour. The banks were from thirty to forty feet high. It 
comes from the south and passes Teute, doubtless the Totti of 
Mr. Park, where Colat nuts are abundant. Its course, where 
crossed, was from E.S.E. to W.S.W., after which, and at a 
short distance, it turns to the northward and pursues its course, 
having first received the Oulada, to its junction with the 
Kowara Ba, near Kayaye. From the Bagoe to the Kowara Ba 
is a distance of about 100 miles. In this space De Caille 
passed many small streams which pursue their course north- 
westward, and especially one in about the centre of the 
space mentioned, called the Koua, which comes from the S.E. 
The nature and the direction of these streams show that there 
is elevaied land at no great distance to the eastward. Near 
and to the northward of the village of Cowara is the large 
river Kowara Ba. At the point where crossed the river flows 
rapidly from the N.E. to E., but it comes from the southward. 
The banks are high. At that time, February the 10th, near 
the middle of the dry season, the stream was 360 feet broad, 
and 10 feet deep. It is here navigable for vessels of sixty or 
eighty tons burden. It inundates and fertilizes the country 
during the rains, but the flood frequently commits great 
ravages. The shea, or butter tree, abounds on its banks. The 
country adjoining the river is in general level. On the right 
bank there is a chain of hills which, seen from the village 
of Cowara, appear to extend from the S. to the E.N.E. 
The Kowara Ba is clearly the river which passes near Kay- 
waree or Kayree, (see Bowditch). Wargee, the Tuareck, says 
this river passes between Garaloo, or Garoo, and Kong, and 
that when he crossed it in his journey from Jinne to Kong, 
he found it running " from the rising to the setting sun." 
Pursuing its course from the village of Cowara, the river 
passes Kayaye, situated five days' journey NN.W. of Douasso, 
and near which place (Kayaye) it is joined by the Bagoe or 
White River. From thence pursuing its course north-eastward, 
it receives in its progress a considerable river from the west- 
ward, called the Ba Nimma, which rises in the mountains to 



78 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the south of Marraboo, and passes the town of Deena, situated 
one day's journey to the south of Sego. From its junction 
with the Ba Nimma, the Kowara Ba pursues its course to 
Galia or Cougalia, a village on its south .bank, and not far 
from Jinne. The stream at this place was, in the beginning 
of April, 500 feet broad. A little to the northward of this 
river is situated the celebrated town of Jinne, in a kind of a 
double island, formed by arms of the Joliba, which passes about 
ten miles to the westward, and is here about oOOO feet broad. 

From Douasso to Cougalia De Caille crossed no rivers, but, 
as he approached Cougalia he passed through marshes and 
some fresh-water lakes, apparently of no great depth, the 
remains probably of rainy-season streams flowing, from the 
mountains already mentioned to the eastward. As regards 
the river which passes Cougalia, M. De Caille makes the im- 
portant remark, that the stream, though very clear, was " of a 
whitish hue." The kingdom of Bambarra stretches along both 
banks of the Joliba, to the eastward of Sansanding, where it is 
bounded on the north bank of the river by the kingdom of 
Massina, in which the island of Jinne and the town of Jinne 
itself are situated.* 

With these observations, it is now time to consider the point 
of the junction of the Kowara Ba with the Joliba. Mr. De 
Caille's informant stated the junction of the Bagoe to take 
place a little below Sego ; but the nature of the country ren- 
ders it almost certain, that the Bagoe and the Kowara Ba 
unite before they join the Joliba. Had such a junction as this 
taken place 6< a little below Sego," Mr. Park, who journied on 
the north bank, it is true, opposite to Silla, and then crossed 
the stream to Silla itself, would in all probability have heard of 
this ; and if he had done so, it would at once put an end to the 
account which he received, that the Ba Nimma and the Ba 
Maniana flowed eastward beyond Silla, and joined the Joliba 
below Jinne. There is indeed one passage in his travels which 
would seem to indicate such a junction, where, he says, that 
at Modiboo, below Sansanding, the river appeared to be larger 
than what it appeared to be at Sego ; but this, probably, arose 

* The authorities for this sectiou of the work are : — Park, De Caille, Dupuis, 
Bowditch, Sultan Bello, and several native travellers. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES 



79 



from the fact, (hat at Sego it is separated into more than one 
channel ; whereas, at the point where he subsequently alluded 
to it, and made the remark just referred to, it was an united 
stream. A closer attention to these matters will, it is believed, 
clear up these apparent contradictions and this seeming confu- 
sion. Maniana, we learn from Park himself, is situated to 
the south of Sego and to the west of Bcedoo, which latter 
country, he also informs us, was thirty days' journey from 
Sego about SS.E.* Mollien was informed, that Maniana 
lay east, distant one month's journey from Foota Jalon, and 
De Caille informs us, that it lay one month's journey east 
of Cambaya, and fifteen days' journey east of Kankan : this 
will place it in the country through which the Upper Bagoe 
flows. This stream, therefore, is doubtless the river of Mani- 
ana mentioned by Mr. Park ; for it is quite a customary thing 
for negro nations to give to a river the name of the country or 
district from which it comes. On these points, the information 
which Mr. Park received, when coupled or connected with the 
information which De Caille has given us, becomes of great 
importance, and requires the closest attention. South of Jinbala, 
says Mr. Park, is the great negro kingdom of Gotto, and to 
the west of this kingdom is Bcedoo, which he fixes, giving all 
the stations and towns on the way to the capital of the country, 
also named Bcedoo, at thirty days' journey from Sego, and 
clearly to the eastward of South. One day's journey north of 
the capital is Totti, the first Bcedoo town, and no doubt the 
town called Teute by De Caille, past which town, he was 
informed, the river Bagoe came. We have also another and 
invincible proof of the position of these countries, in the state- 
ment made by Park, that two days north of Bcedoo the capital, 
there lay some' towns, called Jeuilli towns, inhabited by Man- 
dingoes, and so called, from their acting as inierpreters to those 
traders who went to Kong and the distant countries beyond 
that place. Now De Caille (vol. i. p. 376) informs us very 
pointedly, that to the south of Tangrera he passed several 

* Dupuis says, that Baddim, which he supposes to be the Bcedoo of Park, is a 
district of Mandingo, to reach which from Coomassie the travellers take a cir- 
cuitous route by Enkasse in order to avoid Kong, the inhabitants of which are 
Mussulmans and enemies. 



80 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



villages inhabited by independent people, (independent of 
Bambarra) called Jaulas or Diaulas, who employed themselves 
as interpreters and travellers, clearly the Jeuillies of Park, and 
not far from the capital of Bcedoo. Thirty days' journey from 
Sego, in the direction alluded to, will bring us to the country 
to the eastward of Time and to the N.W. of Kong, and conse- 
quently to the northward of Time, which is to the westward of 
Bcedoo, and where is situated the country of Maniana, or 
Miniana, in that position which different authorities concur in 
placing it in this portion of Mrica : the result of the inquiry 
into these matters becomes thus very clear, and at the same time 
very satisfactory. 

Mr. Park was also very pointedly informed, that a river, 
called the Ba Nimma, rose in the high mountains to the south 
of the Joliba, at a considerable distance south from Marraboo. 
Bending its course north-easterly, this river runs to the east, 
passing one day's journey to the southward of Sego, at a place 
called Deena, where it is crossed in canoes ; that it after- 
wards receives a branch from Maniana; after which the united 
stream, described to him as not half so wide as the Joliba, empties 
itself into Lake Dibbie. Mr. Park also states, that at six days' 
journey from Sego, on the route to Bcedoo, the traveller comes 
to a town called Guandoo, on the banks of a small (small, com- 
pared to the Joliba of course it would be) river called Bading- 
fing,* which river comes from Maniana. In this, both from 
position and name, we readily recognise the Bagoe of De 
Caille, " Fing" being a general Mandingo adjunct of rivers. 
Further, twenty-one days' journey from Sego, on the route to 
Bcedoo, is, according to Mr. Park, the town called Teng-gera, a 
great Jeuilli town.. In addition to these authorities, Mr. Dupuis 
gives us, on the information from the travelling Moors which 
he met with at Coomassie, a route from Daboia, the capital of 
Ghobago, to Sego ; in which the traveller, at five days' journey 
distant from Sego, comes to a large river, called by them the 
Bahar Yasser, which runs to the eastward, and on an island in 
which is the town of Borma, where the traveller rests himseb 
for some days. What they call an island, is more probably the 

* " Badingfing" is a Mandingo word. Ba signifies mother as well as river; 
ding is child. The literal name here seems to be " Child of the Black River." 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



81 



forks of the rivers Ba Nimma, and the Kowara Ba at the point 
of junction ; for the Moors and the Arabs almost invariably 
describe the towns and countries so situated as being placed on 
islands. Further on this subject, the Old Somonie traveller 
who had navigated the Joliba from Jinne to Timbuctoo eight 
times, gave Mr. Park a fac-simile of the course of the stream 
and its tributaries, representing the Ba Nimma, &c. exactly as 
these have been here described. 

Connected with this subject, Kankary and the river Sarano 
require further attention. The course and termination of this 
river is sufficiently fixed by the following facts and authorities : 
First, that there are mountains near Bammakoo, through which 
the Joliba bursts as it were, and which extend on both banks of 
the river, while those to the south rise very high, as seen by 
Mr. Park both from the heights above Bammakoo, and also 
from the town of Maraboo. Secondly, the following accounts 
from Park, which show that Kankary is situated upon a navi- 
gable branch of the Niger, and above Bammakoo and Kan- 
caba. " There is," says he, " no wood proper for boat-build- 
ing in this neighbourhood (Bammakoo) ; the best wood is near 
Kankary, on a large navigable branch of the Niger, and almost 
all the Bambarra canes come from thence ; many of them are of 
mahogany." {Second Journey, p. 262.) Again, as regards pri- 
soners of war made by the king of Sego, Park says, " From 
Sego, they were sent, in company with a number of other cap- 
tives, up the Niger in large canoes, and offered for sale at 
Yamina, Bammakoo, and Kankaba ; at which place the greater 
number of the captives were bartered for gold dust, and the 
remainder sent forward to Kankary. Some of these slaves 
were from Koarta, and others from Wasselou." (First Journey, 
p. 310.) Thirdly, De Caille states, that Kankary was on the 
Sarano, and that the Sarano, a navigable stream, flowed into 
the Joliba. The town of Morella, he says, was four days' 
journey east from Deicouro, at which latter place he crossed 
the Sarano ; and adds, that Kankary lay E.N.E. of Morella, 
but without giving the distance between them. We are, how- 
ever, helped to it, and to a further proof of the course and ter- 
mination of the Sarano, in the following statement respecting a 
Serracolet Moor, who pressed De Caille to accompany him 

G 



82 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



from Kankan to Sego ; " but I allowed him to depart," says 
he, <£ for Kankary, where he was to embark on a river which 
flows into the Joliba, and on landing take the road to Sego." — - 
De CaiUS, vol. i. p. 259. 

The mountain seen by Mr. Park to the south of Maraboo, 
naturally turns the course of the Sarano below Kankary to the 
westward, These mountains continue their range E.S.E. and S. 
beyond Kankary towards Sambatiklia and Time, dividing the 
waters which flow into the Oulada and the Bagoe, from those 
which flow into the Sarano and the Ba Nimma. The physical 
features of this portion of Africa are thus laid plainly before 
us ; and further, and to the same effect, Dupuis was distinctly 
informed, that to the east of Jinne there was a large range of 
high mountains (these will be considered by-and-by) which sent 
the waters from the eastward to the Niger, and in a line nearly 
parallel to its eastern course. This is very curious, and also 
very probable. 

The course and termination, therefore, of the Sarano to and 
from Kankary, and thence to the Joliba near Kankaba, is thus 
clearly established, and the course, junction, and termination of 
the Bagoe, the Kowara Ba, and the Ba Nimma, left clear and 
unembarrassed. The united stream which Park mentions, was 
described to him as being not quite half so large as the Joliba, 
which will agree well with the magnitude of the united streams of 
the rivers above mentioned, and with the magnitude of the river 
which De Caille found and crossed at Cougalia. It must be 
borne in mind, that when De Caille crossed the two first-mentioned 
streams, it was about the middle of the dry season, when all 
the rivers are very low. Of the course and junction of these 
rivers and the Joliba, Park gives us an additional proof, in the 
fact stated in his last despatch on the eve of leaving Sansan- 
ding, viz. that from information he had received, in proceeding 
thence to Timbuctoo, he should not, in descending the Joliba, 
" see Jinne." But, according to his guide, he did see Jinne, 
and presented its chief with a piece of baft and went on. No 
doubt, when he descended the Joliba to the neighbourhood of 
Jinne, and found that a small branch flowed from it to the 
Kowara Ba, and forming the island on which Jinne stood, and 
that by it he could continue his voyage, and regain the main 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



83 



stream, and at the same time see the celebrated city of Jinne, 
he would embrace the opportunity of doing so. In corro- 
boration of all these points, Mr. Hutchison was informed by 
Moors from Jinne, that " the Niger was called Quolla at Jinne 
and Sansanding." Quolla is the negro pronunciation of the 
word Quorra, the corruption of the word Kowara. Quolla, 
therefore, at Jinne, is in reality the Kowara Ba. Sultan Bello's 
schoolmaster, moreover, in his rude delineation of the Kowara, 
has the great branch of the Niger flowing north-eastward past 
Jinne, as De Caille found it, and also joining another great branch 
below and to the north of Jinne. In the evidence given before 
the Committee of the Lords on the African Slave Trade, 1789, 
at part vi. it pointedly states, that Jinne is situated on an island 
near the junction of the rivers alluded to, and nearly placed as 
described. The account is curious, and runs thus : " The inha- 
bitants of Jinne send their boats laden with their commodities ; 
they choose to barter on account of the separation of the rivers 
about half a league from Jinne, Jinne being almost an island. 
One of the rivers from Jinne runs into the country of Bambar- 
ens (Bambarra,) the other into that of Betan," &c. 

Before proceeding to consider the further progress of the 
Niger to the northward and eastward, it is necessary to advert 
to the features of all that portion of Africa through which 
those streams, the courses of which we have just been con- 
sidering, flow ; the cultivation which is found in the different 
districts ; and the condition of the population who dwell in these, 
so far as these have been brought before us by information on 
which we can rely. Mr. Park, in both his First and Second 
Journeys, gives several interesting references as to the state of 
the country, and of the population in western Africa. Sego, he 
states, contains about 30,000 inhabitants. The houses are 
built of clay, of a square form, with flat roofs : some of them 
have two stories, and many of them are white-washed. Be- 
sides these buildings, Moorish mosques are seen in every 
quarter. A great number of canoes are constantly plying on 
the river. " The view of this extensive city," says Mr. Park, 
" the numerous canoes upon the river, the crowded population, 
and the cultivated state of the surrounding country, formed 
altogether a prospect of civilization and magnificence which I 

g2 



84 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



little expected to find in the bosom of Africa." And of the 
country between Sego and Sansanding, he states thus: — 
" About eight o'clock, we passed a large town called Kabba, 
situated in the midst of a beautiful and highly-cultivated 
country, bearing a greater resemblance to the centre of England 
than to what I should have supposed had been in the middle of 
Africa. The people are everywhere employed in collecting 
the fruit of the shea-trees, from which they prepare the 
vegetable butter mentioned in former parts of this work. 
These trees grow in great abundance over all this part of 
Bambarra." Sego, for many centuries, has been a stronghold 
for the Mahommedan faith; but, notwithstanding the pro- 
gression of that faith, the mind of the population is debased 
by many superstitious and cruel customs. Thus, for instance, 
as Isaaco in his Journal informs us, they immediately cut the 
throat of every male child that is born on a Friday. A king 
or chief of that or any neighbouring state, taken prisoner, is 
confined till the fasting moon is over, when he is carried out 
and laid on the ground, and his throat cut across, the blood 
allowed to flow and saturate the earth around, when the body 
is left to the beasts of prey: and for eight days after these 
executions every one passing the spot must pull off his shoes 
or cap. Each fasting moon, one or more are thus sacrificed.* 
In passing betwixt the Ba Faleme and the Bafing, Mr. Park, 
in his Second Journey, presents us with a very interesting 
picture of the country betwixt them, particularly of the Konkodoo 
mountains. " The day was cool," says he ; " but after fatiguing 
ourselves, and resting six times, we found we were only half- 
way up to the top. We were surprised to find the hills 
cultivated to the very summits ; and though the people of 
Dindikoo were but preparing their fields, the corn on the hills 
was six inches high. The villages on these mountains are 
romantic beyond any thing I ever saw. They are built in the 
most delightful glens of the mountains, they have plenty of 
water and grass at all seasons, they have cattle enough for their 
own use, and their superfluous grain purchases all their 
luxuries; and while the thunder rolls in awful grandeur over 

* Batouta states that they eat human flesh. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



85 



their heads, they can look from their tremendous precipices 
over all that wild and woody plain which extends from the 
Faleme to the Black River. This plain is in extent, from north 
to south, about forty miles," To the south, however, the 
country is not so well cultivated. By the side of the river, at 
Maniakoro, latitude 14° N., Mr. Park found " a great number 
of human bones (more than thirty skulls) : on inquiring the 
reason, I was informed that Mansa Numma (the chief) always 
inflicted punishments himself, and that the bones I saw were 
those of criminals," (p. 213). The natives of this and the 
surrounding districts are most incorrigible thieves. 

In his progress from the Joliba, at Courouassa, by Time to 
Jinne, Mr. De Caille also gives a pleasing account of the 
appearance of the country, and some curious notices with 
regard to the condition and manners of the people. In addition 
to that which has been already stated with regard to the great 
elevation of that part of Africa, he informs us that at Kankan, 
-fires were necessary in the houses all the year round. The 
country of Wassalou, situated to the east and north-east of 
Kankan, is described as being very fine ; it is " generally open, 
and diversified by a few hills ; the soil is very fertile, and 
partly composed of a rich black mould mixed with gravel ; the 
country is watered by the Sarano and by many large streams, 
which fertilize the soil, and it brings forth in abundance all 
that is necessary for man in an unsophisticated state. The 
inhabitants are gentle, humane, and very hospitable, curious to 
excess, but much less teazing than the Mandingoes. Their 
food is very simple — rice, and Indian corn, and pistachio nuts, 
&c. The women manufacture earthen pots for their house- 
keeping ; for this purpose they use a grey clay which they 
find on the banks of the streams. They knead and clear it; and 
having brought it into the right form, they polish it by degrees 
with their hands; and the vessels when finished are placed in 
the shade to dry slowly, or the heat of the sun would crack 
them. The vessels are usually round, with a little rim round 
the top, and no handle ; they very much resemble what are 
made throughout all Foota Dhialon and Kankan. The amiable 
inhabitants of this happy country live as if they were all of one 
family. Each hamlet is composed of twelve or fourteen huts, 



86 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



or even fewer, surrounded by a clumsy and tasteless wooden 
palisade. In the centre of this little group of huts is a court, 
into which they all open ; the cattle are shut up in this court 
at night. The women who are employed in cooking perform 
their operations in the open air. Small hamlets are to be seen 
at short distances from one another all over the country. The 
inhabitants grow a great quantity of cotton, of which they 
manufacture cloth, and sell it to the dealers, who carry it to 
Kankan. The looms which they use for weaving cloth are 
like ours, but smaller. The women sit in their courts and 
spin cotton ; it is their business also to milk the cows. They 
grow a great quantity of tobacco. The inhabitants generally 
are very dirty and ill-clothed ; they form a great contrast to the 
inhabitants of Kankan in the article of cleanliness, for they 
are altogether filthy and disgusting, and never wash their 
clothes, which are always of a black or yellow colour. The 
women have no other covering than a pagne, which they wrap 
round their loins. The young men shave their heads like the 
Mahommedans. The children, who are all naked, are early 
addicted to bodily exercise. The inhabitants are Foulahs* 
but do not speak the Foulah language. I tried to discover 
whether they had any religion of their own, but I could never 
perceive any religious ceremony amongst them, and I suspect 
they are careless of the subject, and trouble themselves very 
little with theology. The inhabitants of Wassalou carry on 
little traffic, and never travel. Their idolatry indeed would 
expose them to the most dreadful slavery if they did. Gentle 
and humane, they give a friendly reception to all the strangers 
who come among them." — {De Caillts Travels, vol. L 
pp. 301—305.) 

The inhabitants to the eastward resemble the former very 
nearly in every respect, but are in general very poor. (t Yet 
I have not seen a single beggar," says De Caille, "between 
Kankan, or indeed Beleya, and this place (Sambatiklia). The 
greater part of the land is a black mould, intermingled with 
gravel ; cultivation is almost entirely neglected." " Sambatiklia 
is a large village, surrounded by a double wall ; it is indepen- 
dent, and inhabited by Mandingo Mussulmans. The soil, 
composed in some places of black mould, and in others of grey 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



87 



sand mixed with earth, is very fertile, but very little cultivated. 
The inhabitants are engaged entirely in commerce ; they go a 
few days' journey to the south of their village to buy colat- 
nuts, and these they carry to Jinne and barter for salt. The 
average price of a slave in these parts is thirty bricks of salt, 
(a brick is ten inches long and three wide, and two, or two and 
a half thick ; there are larger and smaller bricks, and the value 
varies accordingly,) a barrel of powder, and eight parcels of 
beads of a bright chestnut colour ; or a gun and four yards of 
rose-coloured taffeta are also the price of a slave. The 
inhabitants are poor; their crops are not sufficient to last 
from one year to the next. The Mandingoes would rather go 
without food part of the day than work in the fields ; they pre- 
tend that labour would take off their attention from the Koran, 
which is a very specious excuse for their laziness." From this 
to Jinne, they calculate that it takes two and a half months to 
travel. Salt is scarcely to be procured about Time, and when 
to be got is procured at an exorbitant price. " The air is 
always cool and damp, which renders it very unhealthy ; in the 
months of December and January, a variable but northern 
wind prevails which still further cools the atmosphere. The 
soil consists of good black mould and sand ; in some parts it is 
irrigated by a number of small rivulets, the overflowing of 
which fertilizes the land." {Be Caitte, vol. i. p. 315.) " The 
Mandingoes, who are naturally lazy, make their slaves work 
hard. A Mandingo who has eight or ten slaves is reckoned 
rich. Their harvest does not maintain them during the whole 
year ; they therefore purchase from the Bambarra negroes, 
who sell their surplus grain to procure salt. The Mandingoes 
of this part of Africa are all traders ; they travel much even in 
the rainy season, but being obliged to carry their merchandise 
on their heads, they take little with them, and journey at a 
slow pace. When they return from their journey, they indulge 
in idleness and gormandizing, leaving agricultural labour to 
their slaves. The Bambarras, who are all Pagans, marry as 
many wives as they are able to maintain, but the Mandingoes 
have never more than four. The women are always the 
victims, for the men, looking upon the other sex as an inferior 
order of beings, are always absolute masters in the domestic 



88 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



circle. These unfortunate women may indeed be considered 
on a level with the slaves as to the severe labour imposed upon 
them. They go to distant places for wood and water ; their 
husbands make them sow, weed the fields, and gather in the 
harvest. When they travel with a caravan they carry burthens 
on their heads, while the husbands proceed at their ease on 
horseback. While pregnant they continue to perform the 
severest labours until the very last moment of their time. 
They give birth to children without uttering a complaint, and 
one would almost believe that they are delivered without pain, 
for on the following day they resume their usual occupations. 
The fathers and mothers are extremely fond of their children, 
and they in their turn have a great veneration for their parents." 
In his journey from Time to Jinne, De Caille gives an account 
very nearly similar of the country and its inhabitants, but as 
regards the face of the country itself, he represents it as every- 
where being extremely beautiful, except when approaching 
Jinne it becomes in some places bare and marshy. The 
following description of the state of the slave-trade and the 
causes of slavery in these countries, and also of the eolat-nut- 
tree and the shea or butter-tree, are particularly interesting, 
and with which may be concluded the present portion of our 
inquiry and our subject. 

u The butter-tree, or ce, is very abundant in the neighbourhood 
of Time. It grows spontaneously, and in height and appearance 
resembles the pear-tree. The leaves grow in tufts, supported by 
a very short foot-stalk. They are round at top, and when the 
tree is young, they are six inches long. When the tree grows old 
the leaves become smaller, and resemble those of the Saint Jean 
pear-tree. It blossoms at the extremity of its branches, and the 
flowers, which are small, grow in clusters, and are supported by 
a very strong pedicle. The petals are white, and the stamina are 
numerous, and scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. The fruit, 
when mature, is as large as a guinea-hen's egg, of oval shape, and 
equal at both ends. It is covered with a pale green pellicle, beneath 
which is a green farinaceous pulp, three lines thick, of an extremely 
agreeable flavour. The negroes are very fond of it, and I liked it 
myself. Under this pulp there is a second pellicle, very thin, and 
resembling the white skin which lines the inside of an egg-shell ; 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



89 



this covers the kernel, which is of a pale coffee- colour. The fruit 
being disengaged from the two pellicles and the pulp, is enclosed in 
a shell as thick as that of an egg, and the kernel is of the size of a 
pigeon's egg. The fruit is exposed several days to the sun, in 
order to dry it, then pounded in a mortar, and reduced to flour, 
which is of the colour of wheat bran. After being pounded, it is 
placed in a large calabash : luke-warm water is thrown over it, and 
it is kneaded with the hands until it attains the consistency of dough. 
To ascertain whether it is sufficiently manipulated, warm water 
is thrown over it, and if greasy particles are detached from the dough 
and float, the warm water is repeated several times, until the 
butter is completely separated, and rises to the surface. The butter 
is collected with a wooden spoon and placed in a calabash. It is 
then boiled on a strong fire, being well skimmed, to remove any pulp 
that remains with it. When sufficiently boiled, it is poured into a 
calabash with a little water at the bottom to make it turn out easily. 
Thus prepared, it is wrapped in the leaves of the tree, and will keep 
two years without spoiling. The butter is of an ash-grey colour, 
and as hard as tallow. It is an article of trade with the negroes, who 
use it both for food and for anointing their bodies. They also em- 
ploy it to burn for light ; and they told me that it was an excellent 
ointment for pains and sores. The fruit of the ce is much larger in 
Baleya and Amana than in Time. The seed of this tree, which is so 
valuable to the people of these countries, could not be transported to 
Europe for sowing, unless packed in small earthen vessels, otherwise it 
looses its germinative power, which does not last long. I have already 
mentioned that there is at Time a fruit called taman, which also pro- 
duces an unctuous substance, very good for eating, and more firm than 
the ce. It might be advantageously employed in Europe for burning. 
The grease or fat, called by the natives taman- toulon, is extracted by 
the same process as that employed with the ce. The tree which 
produces the taman grows on the banks of rivulets, and is very 
common in the south. These two trees are so abundant at Cani and 
Teute, that the inhabitants of those places, I was told, though 
possessing plenty of cows, never eat any butter except that produced 
by the trees. Palm oil is also met with here, though not in great 
quantity. The kernel of the taman is of the size of a horse- 
chestnut, somewhat elongated, of a beautiful pink colour, deepening 
a little towards the outside. It is exceedingly hard; and the women, 
after setting it on the fire in earthen pots, crush it between two flints, 
previously to pounding it in a mortar. The butter of the taman is 



90 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



of a light yellow colour. It is firmer than that of the ce, and has 
no smell. I preferred this to the other. 

" Indigo grows spontaneously in the environs of Time. The 
women use it for dyeing their cotton thread, which the men weave 
into clothes. The process employed to extract the dye is very 
simple. They do not take the trouble to cut the plant, but gather 
the leaves, which they bruise ; and then making them up into small 
cakes, they lay them in the sun to dry. 

" This process has been followed for a very long period. When 
the dye is wanted, the cakes are bruised, and put into a large 
earthen pot, made for this purpose ; cold water is poured over them, 
and time 'is allowed for the leaves to soak. After leaving them 
twenty hours to ferment, lye is made with the ashes of the foigne, 
and cold water is added. This has the effect of dissolving the 
indigo. The dye being thus prepared, the articles to be dyed are put 
into the pot. Cotton requires to be thus soaked for a whole night, 
or even longer ; and when taken out, I have seen it of a beautiful 
blue colour. In proportion as the water diminishes, more is added, 
and the same leaves serve to dye for a whole week ; but the first 
tint is always the finest. 

"The inhabitants of Time are Mandingoes ; and they all make 
journeys to Jinne. I inquired of them the distance from one city to 
the other, to ascertain whether they agree on this point with the 
people of Sambatiklia. They all assured me that I required two 
months to go, and two months to return ; but that they could only 
make two journeys in the course of the year, because they were 
obliged to travel to Teute and Cani, a fortnight's journey to the 
south of Jinne, to purchase their colats. I also learned that the 
inhabitants of those villages themselves go very far to the south, to 
a place called Toman, to procure these colats. On their return, they 
cover them with leaves, and then bury them underground to preserve 
them. This fruit may be kept fresh for nine or ten months by taking 
the precaution to renew the leaves. The colat-tree flourishes in the 
south ; it is very abundant in the Kissi, the Couranco, the Sangaran, 
and the Kissikissi. It is a general article of trade in the interior ; 
for the inhabitants, having no kind of fruits, highly esteem the 
colat, and indeed regard it as a sort of luxury. Old men who have 
lost their teeth, reduce the colats to powder by means of a small 
grater, consisting merely of a bit of tin, in which they make holes 
very close together. The Bambarras are very fond of colats ; but 
as they have not the facility for going to the country where they 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



91 



grow, they purchase them with cotton and other produce of their 
agricultural industry. 

" The colat-tree resembles the plum-tree in size and form. The 
leaves are alternate, and about twice as broad as those of the plum ; 
the flower, which is small and white, has a polypetalous corolla ; 
the fruit is covered with a brownish yellow husk or rind, within 
which is a pulp, which is at first pink or white, but which, on 
attaining full maturity, acquires a greenish hue. The same tree bears 
fruit of both colours. The colat-nut is of the size of the chestnut, 
and of the same degree of hardness. At first it appears to have a 
bitter taste ; but after it is swallowed, it leaves a sweet flavour, 
which the negroes like very much. A glass of water taken immedi- 
ately after one of these colat-nuts, has the effect of having been 
sugared. The nut easily splits in two without changing colour ; 
but if one of the two halves be broken and exposed for a moment to 
the air, the pulp which was previously pink or white, becomes of a 
rust colour." — De Caille, vol. i. pp. 311,312. ) 

" On the 29th of July, we had nothing to eat the whole of the 
day ; I bethought myself of calling upon the Almany, who seemed 
to have forgotten that he had strangers in his dwelling, or thought 
that they were accustomed to fasting. He did not hurry himself, 
however, for it was six o'clock in the evening when he sent us some 
yams, boiled and pounded, with a little bad sauce ; and we were un- 
luckily obliged to share this light repast with a Mandingo, who 
happened at that moment to be prowling about our hut; he came and 
sat down by us, and needed no pressing, for he had probably tasted 
nothing since the evening before. I have often been obliged, in the 
same way, to share the little food I could get with these hungry and 
idle parasites, who would rather starve than work for themselves. 
As our host neglected us so completely, we went out to procure some 
rice and yams for ourselves ; but we could find nothing in the 
village, for the devout Almany had forbidden the customary market 
twice a week, under pretence that it interfered with prayers. We 
sent to a neighbouring village, but were equally unsuccessful ; so we 
were forced to be content with the small portion which our host 
allowed us. We were informed that provisions were scarce, that 
there was not enough to last till next harvest, and that the scarcity 
extended to the neighbouring country. 

" On the 30th of July, a caravan of saracolet merchants arrived at 
Sambatiklia, on their way to Foulou to purchase slaves, whom they 
sell again in Foulou or Kankan. All the goods which are sold at 



92 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the European settlements on the coast are destined for this infamous 
traffic : the slaves are not exported, it is true, but they are no better 
off than if they were. Slavery may perhaps be abolished in 
civilized Europe ; but the wild and covetous African will long con- 
tinue the barbarous custom of selling his fellow-creatures. It is so 
pleasant to live in idleness, and to enjoy the fruits of the labours of 
others, that every negro does all in his power to become a slave- 
owner ; their ambition is limited to the possession of twelve or 
fifteen slaves, whom they employ entirely in agricultural labour. 
These poor creatures are ill-clothed, and work very hard; but I 
never saw them ill-treated. They are commonly obliged to provide 
for their own support, and have a field to themselves, which they 
cultivate for this purpose ; they grow maize and cassava round their 
huts, and find them a great resource." — Be Caille, vol. i. 

The whole country, from the latitude of 8° N. to the banks 
of the J oliba near Sego, in the direction from north to south, 
and from the mountains of Foota Jallon on the west to 
the Kowara Ba on the east, is generally exceedingly moun- 
tainous, but in many parts, such as Wassalou, Time, and 
Douasso, &c, interspersed with broad districts of what may 
be called table lands, which are everywhere very fruitful, and 
must, from the circumstances just mentioned, be very healthy. 
The whole surface of the vast district mentioned is thickly 
studded with towns and villages. 

Jinne is a place of considerable commercial importance and 
celebrity in Africa. Centuries ago it was denominated by the 
Moors and Arabs the country of gold ; and Lyon informs us, 
that to this day the name which it bears in the countries in 
and adjoining the northern parts of the desert is Belad el Tibr, 
or the country of gold. The gold, however, obtained there is 
not produced in that country, but is brought from countries far 
distant to the south and to the west, in exchange for salt and 
other articles of merchandise. All that great portion of Africa 
called Maly or Melli was situated to the south and to the west 
of Jinne, and, in fact, the latter place is supposed to have been 
in early times included in it. About the time the Portuguese 
first appeared on the west coast of Africa, the kingdom of 
Melli extended to the Atlantic. To this day, as Dupuis and 
other travellers have been told, the Moors and Arabs of Africa, 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



93 



include in the kingdom of Melli, all Bambarra, Foota Jallon, 
in fact, the whole country inhabited by the people called 
Mandingoes. This fact tends to explain much of the early 
Arabian geography regarding the interior of Africa, for the 
Mandingo population extends from Timanee and the middle 
Gambia, considerably to the eastward of the Kowara Ba and 
the Bagoe. Jinne is stated by Dupuis to be in the kingdom 
of Massina, and to form part of the great district of Safany, 
extending eastward to Konbory. The town is situated in the 
eastern part of the island, on an elevation of seven or eight 
feet, which preserves it from the periodical inundations of the 
river. The town is full of bustle and animation; every day 
numerous caravans of merchants are arriving and departing 
with all kinds of useful productions. All the inhabitants are 
Mahommedans. They do not permit infidels to enter their 
town. The people of Jinne know no other writing than that of 
the Arabs : almost all can read,though few understand it. There 
are schools for youth like those which I have already described. 
" In going round the market," says De Caille, " I observed some 
shops pretty well stocked with European commodities, which 
sell at a very high price. There was a great variety of cotton 
goods, printed muslin, scarlet cloth, hardware, flints, &c. 
Nearly the whole of these articles appear to be of English 
manufacture." The Moors of Jinne do not keep shops : they 
employ confidential agents, or even slaves, to sell goods on 
their account. The town is about two miles and a half in cir- 
cumference, and contains 9000 inhabitants. It is surrounded 
by a very ill-constructed earthen wall, about ten feet high and 
fourteen inches thick. There are several gates, but they are 
small. The houses are built of bricks dried in the sun ; the 
greater part have only one story ; they are all terraced, have 
no windows externally, and the apartments receive no air 
except from an inner court. The inhabitants of Jinne live 
well ; they eat rice boiled with fresh meat, which is to be pro- 
cured every day in the market. With fine millet they make 
cous-cous ; this is eaten with fresh or dried fish, of which 
they have great abundance. The expense of maintenance for 
a single individual is about twenty-five or thirty cowries per 
day. Meat is not dear in this place : a piece which costs 



94 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

forty cowries is enough to furnish a dinner for four persons. 
One thousand cowries are equal in value to one dollar. There 
are also butchers in the market, who lay out their meat much 
in the same way as their brethren in Europe. As there are 
no inns in this country, the strangers are obliged to lodge in 
houses of private persons, whom they pay in merchandise.' 
Three days' journey N.W. of Jinne is situated the kingdom of 
Massina, inhabited by Mahommedan Foulahs. According to 
Sultan Bello, it has many rivers, and also mountains, two of 
which he particularly mentions as being exceedingly high. 
The people of Massina often come to Jinne for the purpose of 
trade, and sell oxen and sheep for the daily consumption of the 
town. Their sheep are the finest that I have seen in the inte- 
rior ; they are large, and have wool like those of Europe (this 
proves that the sheep are reared on high and elevated lands) ; 
their fleece is used for making wrappers, which sell at very good 
prices. These Foulahs also bring milk and butter to Jinne. 
Massina is very productive in rice, millet, pistachios, water 
melons, giranmous, and onions. The inhabitants rear a good 
deal of poultry, and have a fine breed of horses. Every Moor 
on the island has his own horse." (De Caille, vol. i.) Accord- 
ing to Mr. Park, the kingdom of Massina approaches to within 
a short distance of the Joliba to the northward of Silla. 

COURSE OF THE JOLIBA BELOW JINNE. 

But to return to the progress of the river downward. From 
Jinne Mr. De Caille proceeded on his voyage to Timbuctoo in 
a large canoe of about eighty tons burthen, deeply laden with 
merchandise, in company with several other canoes of equal 
magnitude, accompanied by many passengers, and, during 
the latter part of the voyage, in a fleet of about eighty ves- 
sels. Their course was with the stream, and chiefly by day, 
but generally very slow. He left Jinne on the 28th of March, 
and reached Cabra on the 19th of April. From Cougalia, the 
Cowara, or White River, first bends its course, nearly N.E., 
for upwards of forty-five miles, and thence in a general bear- 
ing to the northward of west to Lake Dibbie. Near the village 
of Soufara, situated on the right bank, and about eighteen 
miles from Cougalia, a little stream runs in from an eastward 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



95 



direction; and at Taguetia, about thirty miles above Isaca, 
Mr. De Caille states, a branch from twenty -five to thirty fathoms 
wide, and forming two little islands at its entrance, runs off to 
the eastward. On this it is scarcely necessary to observe, that 
branches flowing from a river rarely, if ever, make islands at 
their outlet ; while, on the other hand, islands are always 
formed at the entrance of a smaller stream into a greater. We 
may, therefore, fairly set down this branch, which De Caille 
says runs from the Niger, as a river running into it from the 
east, and which river will naturally flow from Mount Dombori, 
to be more particularly noticed hereafter, and will, in the Moor 
and Arab acceptation of the term, make out the water com- 
munication which these travellers stated to Mr. Dupuis existed 
uninterrupted from Jinne to the Gulbe of Magho. One or 
other of the streams just mentioned, no doubt, forms the so- 
called communication. A little above Isaca the Joliba itself 
joins the White River, or rather, more properly speaking, the 
White River at that point joins the Joliba. At this junction 
the Joliba is very broad, has a gentle current, comes from the 
westward, is navigable for very large canoes, and forms a very 
large island at its mouth. Considerably to the southward of 
this, and some distance to the northward of the village of 
Kerra, De Caille states that he found the river, which he de- 
scended, broader than what it was at Cougalia, owing, un- 
doubtedly, to the two branches of the Joliba, which form, 
with the White River, the island of Jinne, and which branches 
join the latter immediately below the Cougalia. The banks 
of the river also, it is proper to state, were not, until after 
passing Isaca, so low as to render it at all probable that the 
stream could throw off any branches in that direction. Below 
Isaca the banks, however, were almost invariably low, and, as 
far as the eye could reach, retained the strongest marks of 
being widely and deeply inundated during the rainy season. 
Above Wouza a branch runs off to the west. In lat. 16° N. 
and 4° 28' W. long. De Caille passed through ILake Dibbie, a 
very large body of water. Where he crossed it from south to 
north it was more than fifteen miles wide, and from twelve to 
fifteen feet deep. When in the middle, the land, though 
everywhere low, is seen on every hand, except to the west- 



96 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA* 



ward. Near the course which the canoes take through the 
lake a tongue of land runs inwards on the south side, and 
penetrates so far into it, that it may almost be said to separate it 
into two lakes. The whole breadth from west to east, according 
to Scott, who crossed it in that direction, (see Edinburgh 
Philosophical Journal, No. 7,) is sixty miles, and its deepest 
part twenty fathoms. From Isaca to Lake Dibbie the general 
bearing of the course of the river is north, and from that 
point to Cabra, the course on the general bearing is N. 40' E., 
in which latter part of its course the river has many remarkable 
windings. Below Lake Dibbie Mr. De Caille found several 
arms or branches flowing off from the river on the west side, 
which, no doubt, rejoined it again ; and it a curious fact, that 
Sultan Bello's schoolmaster, who was a native of Massina, lays 
down in his rude delineation of the course of the river, one 
branch running off to the westward from the main stream north 
of Jinne, and subsequently re-entering the main stream a 
considerable way down by several mouths in the country of 
Massina. 

Before noticing the long sought-for city of Timbuctoo, and 
other matters connected with African geography, in the countries 
adjacent, it is first necessary to consider the supplies which 
the Joliba receives, (for considerable supplies it certainly does 
receive,) on both the east and west side below Isaca, and 
which must necessarily join in Lake Dibbie, and more to the 
northward. The first, and the chief, is the river called Gozen 
Zair by the negroes, and by the Moors and the Arabs El 
Wad Tenij. This stream comes from the mountains to the 
south and S. W. of Walet, or as Sidi Hamed designates it, 
Wablit. These mountains, he further states, seen at a great 
distance from Walet, are as high as Mount Atlas near Suse, 
which is about 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. Such 
mountains must, as a matter of course, give birth to rivers. 
To the S. E. of Walet, where Sidi Hamed and his party fell 
in with the stream, in the dry season it was 250 yards broad. 
The party travelled four days to the eastward, along its 
northern bank, where, being much encumbered by the nume- 
rous hills and thick woods which they found thereon, they 
struck off to the north-eastward, in order to reach the more 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — GOZEN ZAIR. 97 

open country towards the confines of the Desert, and afterwards 
proceeded east, ten days' journey more to Timbuctoo. Sidi 
Hamed further describes this part of the country as hilly and 
fertile. He had left Morocco with a large caravan for Tim- 
buctoo, and after one month's travel a burning wind assailed 
them, and when they came to the wells of Haherah, they found 
them dry. All subordination ceased in the caravan ; amidst 
the horrors of thirst, mutual slaughter ensued, when Sidi 
Hamed and a few companions, mounted on the fleetest camels, 
fled to the south ; they, fortunately, were soon visited by a 
fall of rain, and shortly after reached the boundary of the 
cultivated country, and after crossing a small river, next the 
town of Walet. 

After the most mature consideration given to the point of the 
existence of rivers in this part of Africa, the conclusion is 
come to, that there are really two considerable rivers which 
flow east, and join the Niger, or J oliba, on the west side, betwixt 
Lake Dibbie and Timbuctoo. We have the authority of 
Sultan Bello to state, that the country of Massina has many 
rivers and mountains. Dupuis also informs us, page ex., that 
there are several rivers in this quarter ; and he adds, that the 
people of Jinne and Sego have distinct names for the other 
rivers which flow into and from Lake Dibbie, but that they 
called the great river the Joliba, while the Arabs name it the 
Bahar Neel, or Neel Zakhar, or the Swelling Nile. The first 
and greatest of these rivers is the Gozen Zair ; and the follow- 
ing are the authorities which establish the fact that there 
is such a river: — First. Ptolemy brings his main branch of the 
Niger from N.W. to S. E. over these parts, from Mount Mandrus, 
clearly the high mountains to the south of Walet, to the Lake 
Nigrites, and another branch of the river in the same quarter ; 
and he gives the names, the latitude, and the longitude of 
several cities along its banks. Secondly. The old Arabian 
traveller Batouta, states as follows : — He left Taffilet for 
Soudan ; in twenty-five days he came to Thagary, or, as it has 
been more properly translated by Kosegarten, Tegazza, and 
in thirty-five more to the cultivated country at a place called 
Aboulaten, or Ayoulaten, Eiwalaten, certainly Walet. * 

* The name Tegazza for the station mentioned, settles the point regarding 

H 



98 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Departing thence, he soon after came to a river running east, 
which he immediately set down as a branch of the Nile, and 
adds that it flowed down to Rakbara, Timbuctoo, &c. 
Aboulaten was thus clearly a long way to the west of Tim- 
buctoo, and, as he informs us, twenty-four days' journey N. of 
the country of Maly, to which, in the first instance, he was 
bound. This distance corresponds well with the distance which 
Walet is from the country of Maly, to the south of Sego. 
Departing from Aboulaten, he came, as has been stated, 
to the river which he mistook for the Nile, at a town called 
Karsendjour ; and thence proceeding south, he came in ten days 
more to the river Sansera, and continuing his journey he 
reached Maly ; where, after a residence for a considerable time, 
he proceeded by another river, it would appear, in his course 
downwards and eastward to Timbuctoo, &c. ; for during this 
journey, he tells us that he examined " a gulf which branches 
out of the Nile," &c, which gulf is clearly the Lake Dibbie. 
Thirdly. Le Brue states, that about 100 miles above Gallam, 
where the Senegal ceases to be navigable, a route proceeds to 
Timbuctoo, a journey of thirty-four days by the following 
places : Jaga, Beyogne, Kingurie, Sabaa, Baramaya, Goury, 
and Gabania. After travelling twenty-seven days on this route, 
the traveller quits the river, as Sidi Hamed did, and for the 
same reason ; and in six days' journey more, he reaches 
Timbuctoo. According to the maps of Delisle, French travel- 
lers make the distance from Gallam to Timbuctoo thirty-two 
days' journey, passing through Timbe, five days short from 
Timbuctoo, where they leave the bank of the river to avoid 
too great a detour. Fourthly. D'Anville laid down a river in 

the direction which Batouta took in his journey, and also the point at which 
he reached Sudan. Tegazza (eastern), he says, was twenty-five days' journey from 
Segelmasa. There is another part of this narrative which still more clearly 
elucidates and confirms the route which he took, and the point at which he 
reached Sudan. This is the station named Tashala, or Tasahla, which he 
states was ten days' journey to the north of the beginning of the cultivated 
land towards Eiwalatan or Walet. This place is certainly the watering station 
alluded to by Sidi Hamed, under the name of Teshlah, which lays, he says, 
twelve days' journey S.W. from the fatal point where his caravan found all 
the wells dry, and where the quarrel and massacre took place. He pursued his 
course S.W. to reach it, and thence south, till he came to the borders of the 
Desert, and afterwards to Wablit or Walet. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — GOZEN ZAIR. 99 



this quarter, bat which, at an early period, he, as well as 
others, believed to be a branch of the Senegal, or the 
Senegal itself. Of this latter error, however, he was afterwards 
fully satisfied ; but still the information which he had, gave him 
clearly to know that there was a river in this quarter, but 
which ran to the Joliba, and not the Senegal. Fifthly. The 
evidence of a witness given before the Committee of the House 
of Lords on the African slave-trade, 1789, gives this river 
running east, under the name of Gozen Zair, and its breadth 
240 yards. Sixthly. The very clear and positive account given 
of this river by Sidi Hamed, as has been previously noticed. 
Seventhly. Sultan Bello, in his map of central Africa, lays 
down a large branch, as coming from the west, and joining the 
Joliba a little to the south of Timbuctoo. Eighthly, De Caille 
tells us, that travellers going from El Arroan to Sansanding, 
pass on the seventh day from Arroan a large river. This must 
be the large arm which De Caille tells us he saw seven miles 
west of the separation above Kabra, running W.S.W. with 
an island at its mouth, which was, in all probability, the 
junction of the Gozen Zair with the Joliba. All the distances 
and facts previously referred to point out this very forcibly. 

Next, with regard to a river more to the south, and a tribu- 
tary to the Joliba, we have the following facts and authorities. 
First, we have the nature and the large extent of the country 
itself, which intervenes between the northern banks of the J oliba 
at Yamina, and the high mountains situated to the southward of 
Walet. Here there is abundance of space for the formation of 
a considerable river, and both Sultan Bello and Dupuis tell us, 
that there are rivers in this quarter, and in the kingdom of 
Massina. Secondly, we have, as has already been particu- 
larly adverted to, the authority of Isaaco, who certainly travelled 
to the eastward of those rising grounds which supply the Ba 
Woolli with springs, that eight or nine days' journey to the 
north of Yamina he passed a considerable river, and to show 
that the country where he did pass it was considerably elevated, 
and that the passage was effected at an early part of its course, 
he states that it flowed over a considerable rapid or cataract. 
This river may be fairly taken as the parent stream of the river 
at present under our consideration, and its course will be to the 

h % 



100 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



north-eastward. Thirdly, we have Mr. Park's authority, that 
there is in the neighbourhood of Satile, about N.E. from the 
point mentioned by Isaaco, several streams, then swelled by the 
heavy rains running to the E. and N.E. which must necessarily 
form tributaries to the river under consideration. Fourthly, 
Dupuis pointedly tells us, that he was informed by the Moor 
and Arab travellers, that the Arab tribe of El Moghata, who 
dwell in a pastoral country on the west bank of the J oliba to 
the north of Jinne, cross, on the 10th day after leaving that 
place, a large river, running to the south-eastward. From 
Jinne to a point a little to the westward of Lake Dibbie, this 
time and distance will exactly correspond. Fifthly, we have 
to add the previous statement made by Batouta, that ten days 
after leaving the river nearest to the Desert, he came, in his 
southern course to Maly, to the river Sansera, in all probability 
the very river which we now have under review. There is one 
point and one authority w T hich would appear to militate against 
the two rivers mentioned being separate streams at their junction 
w T ith the Joliba: it is that of Scott, the sailor from Liverpool, 
who was wrecked near Cape Nun, carried captive by an Arab 
tribe across the Desert into Soudan, and who, during that 
journey, crossed Lake Dibbie. In his route to the lake, he 
makes no mention of having passed any large rivers ; but the 
question was probably never asked him, and, in the next place, 
his route from Wednun would be by Hoden and Benowm, and 
consequently he would pass through that country where Park 
travelled after his flight from Jarra, to the southern side of the 
river we have been adverting to, and at a point so high in the 
course of either it or any of its tributary streams, that being in 
the dry season, he would necessarily see no streams of any 
consequence, and which, in fact, Park scarcely found in the 
rainy season. 

The next point to consider is, the country and the tributaries 
which the Joliba probably, we may add certainly, receives from 
the eastward between Jinne and Timbuctoo. One or more of these 
has already been mentioned. Above Lake Dibbie, on the east 
side, is the villageof Coria,thefirst village in the country of Bannan, 
which the negroes sometimes call Thonga, or the land of Bannan. 
It is an independent state, and stretches far inland from the 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



101 



east bank of the river. Cotton is very abundant and good in it. 
Considerably below Lake Dibbie, on the same side of the river, is 
the country of Diriman, which stretches eastward a considerable 
way into the interior. The capital called Alcodia, is one and a 
half day's journey from the river in that direction. In going 
down the river, Mr. De Caille appears to have heard nothing 
about the kingdom of Jinbala, which it is reasonable to sup- 
pose he would have done had it been situated immediately upon 
the river ; but when at Timbuctoo he did hear of this place, that 
it was an extensive state, situated at a great distance inland to 
the south of Timbuctoo, and to the east of the Joliba in its 
course from Jinne. Le Brue was distinctly informed regarding 
this place and kingdom, that it lay to the eastward of the 
river and Lake Dibbie or Maberia. Park, in his first jour- 
ney, was distinctly informed that this country lay to the north 
of Ghotto, by him placed considerably to thfe eastward of the 
Joliba, and which we shall by-and-by see is a country situated 
to the northward and the westward of Magho. The early 
French traders on the Senegal distinctly state, that the island 
of Guinbala, within which was the river of Guien, lay to the 
east of the Lake Maberia or Dibbie ; and this statement is 
adopted by D'Anville as correct. Dupuis states, that this 
country is a district or principality ; that it has a town called 
by the same name, situated about one day's journey from the 
Lake Dibbie, which lake, he states, is called the sea of Jin- 
bala ; but he appears to believe that it stood on the northern 
shores of the river, the course of which he conceives to be 
about E.N.E., whereas we know it is in that part of its course 
to the westward of north, which brings the position of this coun- 
try, as it should be, to the right bank of the river, instead of the 
opposite bank, as he seemed to believe. He, in fact, however, 
enables us to correct this error in his map, by stating in the 
body of his work, that Taslima is a town in the country of 
Konbory (so is Fadanky), and which town his informants give 
as one in the route from Jinne to Wakwari, the capital of Jin- 
bala. Bowditch states, that Jinbala is a country adjoining the 
river below Massina ; and it would appear that the province of 
Massina comprehends both banks of the J oliba for some distance 
to the northward of Jinne. The inhabitants of Jinbala are 



102 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA* 

Mahommedans, and very industrious. Cotton is abundant in this 
country, from which they manufacture cloth to a considerable 
extent. Park and other travellers were told, that the land was 
alluvial, but swampy and full of creeks ; and that Wakwari, the 
capital thereof, was a place of considerable trade, and a resting- 
place for the merchants which traded betwixt Timbuctoo, Jinne, 
and other places to the S.W. Its situation is just about half 
way betwixt Jinne and Timbuctoo. Wakwari, there is reason 
to believe, is situated upon the river called by the Somonie 
traveller to Mr. Park, the Moosiaca Ba, and which he repre- 
sents as entering the Joliba from the east side, about half way 
betwixt Jinne and Timbuctoo. This junction most likely takes 
place to the south, above Diriman, at the east point of the great 
bend of the river to the eastward, and to the north of Lake 
Dibbie. This will form, according to the general Arab accep- 
tation of the term, the country of Jinbala into an island, and 
also at once account for the alluvial, marshy nature of the coun- 
try. It is a fact well known that the Arabs call every country 
situated on the forks of rivers, or a country surrounded by 
rivers, we shall say on three sides, islands. 

This river, the Moosiaca Ba, will be found to spring from 
the great range of mountains which Dupuis was informed lay 
to the eastward of Jinne, and which mountains send off a large 
river to the east. Dupuis mentions particularly the state of 
Konbory as situated to the east of Jinne, and on the road from 
that place to Deboia, the capital of Ghobago. This country and 
this range of mountains alluded to are centainly the same as 
the country of Hajri, stated by Sultan Bello to be seven days' 
journey to the eastward of Jinne and Massina; and which 
country of Hajri, he especially mentions, is very mountainous, 
and particularly notes one, which he calls Dombori, the like of 
which, he states, is nowhere else to be found, and on which, 
according to him, the capital of the country called Onbori is 
situated. From the description he gives of this mountain it 
seems to be some great volcanic production. It is remarkable, 
also, that in this country he makes no mention of any deep 
rivers, as he does in his description of other countries ad- 
joining, but he states that water was abundant ; and these facts 
will of themselves show, and go to prove, that this mountainous 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — LA MAR ZARAII. 103 

district, while it contains, like other countries more level, no 
deep streams, is merely the source of various springs which 
afterwards form such streams. These mountains also, be it 
here observed, lying in the direction mentioned, naturally bar 
the Joliba in its progress eastwards from the parallel of Jinne 
northwards, and compel the stream to pursue a northern course 
to Timbuctoo ; and in which place, barred as it were by the 
ramifications of the range mentioned, and those proceeding 
S.E. from the mountains in Walet, it forms in the deep valley 
betwixt them the lake Dibbie, with the low and swampy shores 
around it. 

That a river joins the Niger to the west of Timbuctoo, and 
which has its source in the mountainous country to the N.E. 
of that place, is, from the facts already stated and those about 
to be mentioned, almost certain. Sidi Hamed says, that it 
passes at some distance west of Timbuctoo, and that it is dry 
in the dry season, which might be the reason why De Caille 
did not observe its bed in his journey from Timbuctoo to 
Arroan, part of which, moreover, was accomplished by night. 
Six or eight miles south of Arroan, De Caille mentions that 
they pitched their tents near some water, and near which were 
bulrushes, which would indicate the sides of a stream. Sidi 
Hamed further says, that returning from Timbuctoo in his 
second journey, he went by way of Twat, and that he journeyed 
from Timbuctoo in the direction or bearing a little to the east- 
ward of north for twenty days through a hilly country, when 
they came to a fine fertile valley, where the caravan rested. 
The country he had passed through was fertile, and grain 
plenty ; and it being in the wet season, or rather at its close, he 
found many streams of water running S. and W. to join the great 
river, and which streams are no doubt the sources of the small 
river which flows to the Niger to the west of Timbuctoo. 
D'Anville heard that a river, exactly in this quarter, and flowing 
in a similar direction, did join the Niger a little to the west of 
Timbuctoo. Boubeker, a Foulah, calls the river in question 
" Caillorem," a branch of the Joliba, and near which, he says, 
Timbuctoo stood. Bowditch also heard that there was a small 
river near Timbuctoo, which was crossed on the third day near 
Azibbie,the frontier town in the route to the country of Haoussa, 



104 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



He also states that a small river goes nearly round the town 
during the rains ; and further (p. 194), that during this period, 
it is let out into the city by small canals or watercourses. Leo 
Africanus states the same thing. In his rude representation of Tim- 
buctoo and the Joliba given to Mr. Park, the old Somonie Moor 
has a small river nearly encircling Timbuctoo. Shabeeny states, 
most pointedly, that there is a small river which runs within two 
miles of the city, almost encircling it, and which is lost in the 
sands to the west of the city. De Caille, from the appearance of a 
watercourse, expressed an opinion that the Niger had, at an 
early period, run close by the city ; but the appearance which 
led him to form this opinion is more probably the bed of the 
river alluded to, or rather, of a rainy-season branch of it, then 
(April) dry. Major Rennell, in his map of Africa made for 
the African Association, has more than one river coming from 
the northward near Timbuctoo, but especially one a little to the 
west of that city, and entering the Joliba at the bend or elbow 
of the latter stream to the westward of Cabra. This (namely, 
the river mentioned by so many different authorities) is most 
probably the La Mar Zara of Adams, which has so much 
puzzled African geographers. Connecting his account with 
the authorities just referred to, it will appear clear and plain. 
This man, a sailor, was wrecked at Cape Blanco, and carried by 
the Moors as a slave, on and with a marauding party, into Soudan. 
He confirms the account of Sidi Hamed and others regarding a 
river descending from the N.E. and passing to the west of 
Timbuctoo. In Soudan, however, they were taken prisoners 
and carried to Timbuctoo, at which place he was subsequently 
liberated. From Cape Blanco they came, after forty-four days' 
travel, to a negro village named Soudeny, on the confines of 
Bambarra. At this place they were taken prisoners, and 
marched in twenty-five days more to Timbuctoo. This distance, 
for the route which they took, is very exact when compared 
with the distance by what is considered the direct route from 
Cape Blanco to Timbuctoo, and agrees with the time occupied 
by Sidi Hamed — two moons. When liberated, they set out from 
Timbuctoo, and travelled, he says, for ten days, at the rate of from 
fifteen to eighteen British miles per day (the party being small), 
along the banks of a river called La MarZarah, in the bearing 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — CABRA. 105 

east of north, not north of east as is stated in the notes taken 
from him ; at the end of which time they struck off to the 
north, and in thirteen days reached Toudeny, in their journey 
thither meeting only with negroes bringing salt from that 
place. In twenty-nine days more they crossed the broadest 
part of the Desert, and in ten days more reached Woled d' 
liem. Inspecting the map, the distances here given will be 
found to be very correct. It is the bearing taken by Sidi 
Hamed to Mahbrook in his way to Twat; and the river 
alluded to must be that formed by the small rivers running 
amongst the hills between Timbuctoo and that place. The 
name Mahbrook means joy and gladness, or congratulation, the 
caravans on their reaching it from the north congratulating 
each other on having got clear of the Desert. 

There is another remarkable feature of Western Africa, or 
rather the western part of it, on the southern boundary of the 
Great Desert, going eastward from the Atlantic. It is this. 
Sidi Hamed states, that in journeying eastward (nearly E.) 
from the bay of Arguin (for about this point it was he left the 
coast) towards Timbuctoo, mountains were seen on the right hand 
throughout; which shows that the country is not, as has been 
supposed, a bare sandy desert. His words are, — travelled "to 
the east on the border of the Desert, close by the low country, 
with mountains in sight most of the way. In two moons came 
to Timbuctoo," which city is surrounded with hills on all sides 
except towards the south. Mr. Park goes to confirm the 
account that the fertile country stretches further north in this 
quarter of Africa than it had previously been admitted to 
do, when he informs us, that at the period when Ali fled from 
Benowm and carried him (Park) along with him, they travelled 
to the northward two or three days, and then pitched their 
camp in a large wood, which certainly could not be found in a 
burning desert. The period also when this took place was 
at the very close of the dry season, when every thing, even 
in cultivated and fertile countries, in the torrid zone, is com- 
pletely burnt up, and the land reduced almost to a complete 
desert. 

Three hours, say seven miles, above Cabra, the Joliba divides 
into two branches. One hour, two miles, above this, is a large 



106 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



island ; and two and a quarter hours above this, say five miles, 
"a large branch," says De Caille, "runs off to the W.S.W. 
for a little space." The direction given to this branch, and the 
state of the river at this point, render it much more probable 
that a river joins the Joliba, than that a branch runs from it ; 
and this river is most probably the mouth of the Bahr el 
Ahmar, or Caillorem, and of the Gozen Zair, increased by the 
former stream. 

Immediately to the westward of Cabra the Joliba turns to 
the eastward, separating into two streams ; the one a deep but 
narrow branch, about 120 feet broad, flowing E.N.E. a few 
miles to Cabra, the port of the celebrated city of Timbuctoo ; 
and the other branch, about three quarters of a mile wide, flows 
E.S.E. and then E. until it is joined by the small branch 
already mentioned a few miles to the eastward of Cabra. 
From Jzaca, downwards to Cabra, the Joliba in the month of 
April, during the very height of the dry season, was from half 
a mile to three quarters of a mile broad, and from ten to twelve 
feet deep, and in some places even deeper, and this too with 
branches running off to the westward, but which afterwards 
rejoined the river. De Caille, who descended the river at the 
period of the year above mentioned, was greatly struck with 
the magnitude of the stream, and remarks, that the Senegal 
and the Gambia, even near their junction with the sea, were 
" ordinary rivers compared to this." The current of the 
Joliba in the part mentioned was from one mile and a half to two 
miles per hour. From Jinne to Lake Dibbie, on the general 
bearing, the distance is 1 15 geographical miles, and from Lake 
Dibbie to Cabra the distance on the general bearing is 120 
geographical miles, making the distance from Jinne to Cabra, 
by the river line, 225 miles. This distance, it may here be 
observed, is not much greater than what it was previously 
stated to be, but then the course of the river betwixt the two 
places is very different indeed to that which Europe had been 
taught to believe — in truth, nearly N. in place of E.N.E.* 

The banks of the Joliba above Timbuctoo, on both sides, 

* Authorities for these sections — Ptolemy, Batouta, Le Brue, D'Anville, Park, 
Bowditch, Dupuis, De Caille, Scott, Sultan Bello, Report of the Committee of the 
House of Lords on the African Slave Trade, 1789, and several native travellers. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. TIMBUCTOO. 107 

are, to a considerable distance, deeply flooded during the 
rains. The country along the Gozen Zair, to the eastward of 
Walet, is represented to be fruitful and well cultivated ; and 
the land west of the Johba from the last-named river south- 
ward, including the whole of the kingdom of Massina, is both 
fertile and populous, and has numerous rivers and mountains, 
some of the latter being very high. Immediately to the west 
of Timbuctoo, and to the N.W. from the acute bend of the 
river above Cabra, the country is less fruitful and populous, 
gradually, and at no great distance, merging into the sands of 
the Desert. 

Timbuctoo, so long the object of European research, is at 
present greatly reduced from the splendour and the importance 
which attached to it in former times, when the Arabian and the 
Mahommedan power was more extensive and strong than what 
it now is in Africa. According to the most accurate accounts 
which have been received, and from which the map accom- 
panying this has been constructed, it is situated in 17° 40' 
N. lat. and 2° 30' W. long, being, as regards the latitude, 
nearly in the spot where Ptolemy placed his town of Cuphse. 
This is very curious, and also very important. However longi- 
tudes and latitudes may err in the hands of the best calculator, 
the great features of nature do not change, and, in this respect, 
the course of the principal stream of the Niger to the south of 
Cuphee, or the modern Timbuctoo, and to the eastward of that 
place, is shown, by incontestable modern authority, to have 
been exactly delineated by Ptolemy. Timbuctoo is not very 
large, containing only about 13,000 inhabitants, but these live 
in superior circumstances to the population of most other 
African towns. It is situated about ten to twelve miles due 
north from Cabra, its port on the Joliba. Sidi Hamed states, 
that the town is " built in a plain, surrounded on all sides with 
hills, except to the south ; the plain extends to the river." 
The following is De Caille's narrative of his first view of it, 
and after his entrance into it. <f I now saw this capital of 
Soudan, to reach which had so long been the object of my 

wishes I looked around and found that the sight before 

me did not answer my expectations. I had formed a totally 
different idea of the grandeur and the wealth of Timbuctoo. 



108 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



The city presented at first view nothing but a mass of ill- 
looking houses, built of earth. Nothing was to be seen in all 
directions but immense plains of quicksands of a yellowish 
white colour. The sky was a pale red as far as the horizon ; 
all nature wore a dreary aspect, and the most profound silence 
prevailed, not even the warbling of a bird was to be heard." 
On this description, however, it is necessary to remark, that 
when De Caille arrived there, and during the period when he 
resided there till he left it on his journey to Morocco, it 
was the very height of, in fact the close of, the dry season, 
(April 19th to May 4th,) when every thing in open tropical 
countries is burnt up, and when every spot, in places much 
more favourably situated than Timbuctoo, has the appearance 
of a desert. The commencement of the rains soon changes 
the whole face of nature, and speedily clothes the earth with 
resplendent verdure. This will fully^explain the different ac- 
counts which other travellers give of this portion of Africa, 
namely, that for fifteen journeys to the N.E. from Timbuctoo 
the country is generally verdant and fruitful, though not so 
much so as parts more in the interior. It is the position in 
which Timbuctoo is placed which renders it so much talked of, 
looked after, and celebrated. It is the great central point 
to which all the commercial travellers from Morocco to central 
and southern Soudan, also to which all those from Algiers, 
Tripoli, Tunis, Mourzook, Egypt, and eastern Soudan, bend 
their steps for western and southern Soudan, and from whence 
they all again, on their return to the places and countries 
already mentioned, shape their course. Hence its position is 
more readily ascertained than the position of other places, and 
hence, when this has been ascertained, it becomes of much 
importance, and enables us to fix with considerable precision 
the position of other important places in Africa. 

" Timbuctoo," says De Caille, " though one of the largest 
cities I have seen in Africa, possesses no other resources but 
its trade in salt, the soil being totally unfit for cultivation. 
The inhabitants procure from Jinne every thing necessary for 
the supply of their wants, such as millet, rice, vegetable butter, 
honey, cotton, Soudan cloth, preserved provisions, candles, 
soap, allspice, onions, dried fish, pistachios, &c. Fire-wood is 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — TIMBUCTOO. 109 



very scarce, being all brought from the neighbourhood of 
Cabra. It is an article of trade, and the women sell it in the 
market-place. It is only burnt by the rich: the poor use 
camel's dung for fuel. Water is also sold in the market-place ; 
the women give a measure containing about half a pint for a 
cowrie. The city forms a sort of triangle, measuring about 
three miles in circuit. The streets are clean and sufficiently 
wide to allow three horsemen to pass abreast. Timbuctoo 
contains seven mosques, two of which are large ; each is sur- 
rounded by a brick tower. In consequence of the oppressive 
heat the market is not held until three o'clock in the afternoon, 
It is very unusual to see any other merchandise except what is 
brought by the vessels, and a few articles from Europe, such as 
glass wares, amber, coral, sulphur, paper, &c. I saw three 
shops kept in small rooms, well stored with stuffs of European 
manufacture. The city of Timbuctoo is principally inhabited 
by negroes of the Kissoor nation : many Moors also reside 
there ; they are engaged in trade, and, like Europeans who 
repair to the colonies in the hope of making their fortune, they 
usually return to their own country to enjoy the fruits of their 
industry. They have considerable influence over the native in- 
habitants of Timbuctoo, whose king or governor is a negro. 
This prince, who is named Osman, is much respected by his 
subjects : he is himself a merchant, and his sons trade with 
Jinne. The Moors resident in Timbuctoo receive consign- 
ments of merchandise from Adrar, Taffilet, Towat or Twat, 
Ardamas (Ghadames), Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. Timbuctoo 
may be regarded as the principal entrepot of this part of Africa. 
All the salt obtained from the mines of Toudeny is brought 
hither on camels. To the W.S.W. of the town there are large 
excavations, from thirty-five to forty feet deep; these are 
reservoirs, which are supplied by the rains. Hither the slaves 
resort to procure water for drinking and cooking. This water 
is tolerably clear, but it has a disagreeable taste, and is very 
hot. These reservoirs have no covering whatever, the water 
is consequently exposed to the influence of the sun and the 
hot wind. The slaves draw the water from the reservoirs in 
calabashes, with which they fill leathern bags, which are 
carried on asses. I am inclined to think that formerly the 



110 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



river flowed close to Timbuctoo, though at present it is eight 
miles to the north (south) of that city, and five miles from 
Cabra in the same direction. All the native inhabitants of 
Timbuctoo are zealous Mahommedans : their dress is similar to 
that of the Moors. The inhabitants are exceedingly neat in 
their dress and in the interior of their dwellings." — (De Caille, 
vol. ii. p. 53, &c.) They are, however, represented to be very 
licentious in their manners. On the east, north, and west 
side of Timbuctoo the place is surrounded by the Tooariks, 
or Tuaricks, a warlike nation, who render the inhabitants 
of the towns their tributaries. This people is spread over the 
Great Desert, from the banks of the Niger and the banks of 
the Yeou, north to Mourzook and Ghadames. 

Shabeeny gives the following account of Timbuctoo and its 
environs: ' 4 Close to the town of Timbuctoo on the south 
is a small rivulet, in which the inhabitants wash their 
clothes, and which is about two feet deep. It runs in the 
great forest on the east, and does not communicate with the 
Nile, but is lost in the sands west of the town. Its waters are 

brackish On the east side of Timbuctoo there is a large 

forest, in which are a great many elephants. The timber here 

is very large The winter lasts about two months, though 

the weather is cool from September to April. They begin to 
sow rice in August and September, but they can sow it at any 
time, having water at hand: Shabeeny saw some sowing rice while 
others were reaping it. Lands are watered by canals cut from 
the Nile ; high lands by wells, the water of which is raised by 
wheels worked by cattle, as in Egypt. Dews are very heavy. 
. . . Goats are very large; sheep are also very large. Cattle are 
small ; many are oxen. Horses are small ; they have dromedaries 
which travel from Timbuctoo to Taffilet in the short period of five 
or six days. . . . They have plenty of fish. Ostriches are very 
numerous ; their feathers are very cheap." When he left Tim- 
buctoo for Haoussa, he crossed the small river close to the 
walls, and reached the Nile in three days, travelling through a 
fine country abounding in trees ; he embarked on the Nile in a 
large boat, at a place called Mushgreelia. It was during the 
height of the rainy season that Shabeeny left Timbuctoo. 

De Caille tells us, that amongst the countries known at Tim- 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. HAOUSSA. Ill 

buctoo, there was the country or town of Salah, situated ten 
days' journey to the E. and the country of Zawat, the capital 
of which is called Bousbiby, situated two days' journey to the 
N.E. It was the barbarous and fanatic chief of this district 
which captured and murdered the unfortunate and lamented 
Major Laing, not far to the south of El Arroan, which town is 
about eight days' journey N. by W. of Timbuctoo. Lyon 
mentions a town called Douna on the banks of the Niger, one 
and a half day's journey east of Timbuctoo, and another large 
town called Eizawen, twenty days' journey distant in the same 
direction. Haoussa, or the country of Haoussa, all accounts 
agree in stating, lays S.E. by E. of Timbuctoo. Le Hadge 
Mahommed, a great traveller, states that from Timbuctoo to 
Butoo, the port or frontier town of Haoussa on the Niger, was 
forty-eight days' journey by land, thus : — eight days to Agadez, a 
negro town built with reeds and rushes ; fifteen days to Hum- 
bie, another town, and thence to Butoo twenty-five days ; to the 
eastward of which the river was obstructed by rocks, as we find 
to be the case below Yaoori. This traveller also states, that 
the country of Butoo was bounded east by the territories of 
Goober. Both De Caille and Bowditch were informed, that 
from Cabra to Haoussa was a navigation of twenty days. Park 
heard that it was twelve days, and Shabeeny says, that this 
was the time he took ; but he adds, it was " when the river was 
full." Park's guide, one of the greatest travellers in Africa, 
says that from Jinne to Kashna was a journey of two months, 
partly by land and partly by water, which, after deducting the 
land journey in the country to the west of Kashna, would leave 
about forty-five days for navigation by the Niger. Dupuis was 
also informed, that from the country of Alfine, situated to the 
east of Lake Dibbie, to the point where the travellers cross the 
river " at the great rocks" near Atty, and S.W. of Kanka- 
wansa, was a journey of thirty days. Wargee, the Twarick, 
gives the distance from Yaoori to Timbuctoo through Gourmon, 
forty-tico days, thus: — Yaoorie to Gaigah three days; Fogan 
one day ; Karamanee one day ; Cumba one day. Here crossed 
the Kowara in a canoe, and took one hour to cross it by this 
mode of conveyance ; much larger river than the Yeou. From 
the Kowara to Gourmon ten days ; Gourmon to Moosh ten 



112 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



days ; Moosh to Imbolee ten days ; Imbolee to the Niger (Bar- 
neel) five days ; ferried over in half an hour, and in three hours 
more reached Cabra. Thus every account goes to establish and 
to show the very great extent of country between Timbuctoo 
and Yaoori. 

There is a point of considerable importance, as it regards 
the travels of Batouta, which here properly merits attention, 
as clearing up still further the routes which he took, and thus 
fixing the positions of other places in this portion of Africa. 
From Timbuctoo, he proceeded by the Niger to Kawkaw, 
Kuku, or Ghou, the capital of which, he says, was large, and 
one of the most beautiful cities in Sudan. From Kawkaw 
he went to Bardama, or Burdama; the females of which 
were chaste and handsome, and the population of which pro- 
tect the caravans. From Bardama he next went to Nakda, 
or Takdha, or Takadda, which is handsome, and built of red- 
stone. Its water runs over copper-mines, which change its 
colour and its taste. Here is another confirmation of the 
existence of the Mar Zarah of Adams. The population of 
Nakda traded largely with Egypt. From Nakda Batouta 
proceeded to Segelmasa in the month Shaaban (a. d. 1353). 
The distance from Nakda to Segelmasa was seventy stations or 
journeys. He travelled by way of Tekeddam and Twat. 
The first place he reached was Kahor, a stony country : 
thence he travelled three days through a country without 
water ; thence, fifteen days through a desert without inhabitants, 
but with some water ; thence, in a short time, he came to the 
point where the road for Twat and that for Egypt separates ; 
thence, in ten days he reached Dehkar, and next Twat. — (See 
Lees Batouta , p. 24>2.) 

How far Batouta travelled eastward from Kawkaw, or Ghou, 
either on the Niger or through the countries situated on the 
northern bank of that river, it is quite impossible to determine, 
as he has not, or rather the abridger of his work has not given 
us the time occupied in travelling between Kawkaw and 
Bardama, and thence to Nakda ; nor can we now recognise the 
names of these places in African maps or among African travellers, 
but from the time which he took upon leaving Segelmasa until 
he returned to it again, in about twenty-one months, and the time 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — FOULAHA. 113 



which he states he stopped at different places, &c; it could not 
be far, and probably terminated 360 miles (if so much) east- 
ward ofTimbuctoo, and near to the mountainous district where 
the Niger bursts through the chain to the westward of Atty, 
which district probably then formed the frontier in that direction 
of the great kingdom of Yaoora, or Yaoori, which no white 
man or Arab, at that time, durst enter, the reason probably 
why Batouta proceeded no further down the river to the east 
or south eastward. 

On the north bank of the Niger, and from Ghou to Kabi 
inclusive, is situated the great country, called by Dupuis, 
Foulaha, from the Foulahs, or Fallatahs, its rulers, and some 
time ago accounted their great stronghold or head quarters in 
Central Africa. This leads us to ascertain more correctly that part 
of Africa below " Gottoijege a long way," on the Niger, where 
Park's guide tells us they perceived an army of the Poul 
nation (Foulahs or Fallatahs) stationed on one side of the 
river, but which, however, did not molest them. Gottoijege is 
the same place which Sultan Bello calls Ghourouma in the 
country of Sogho, or Sheego, where Park was attacked, and 
where, according to both Amadi Fatouma, and Sultan Bello, 
he killed a great number of the natives, and lost one white man 
on the occasion. 

From Timbuctoo the Niger continues its course first east, 
then E.S.E. and S.E. and next southerly to Yaoora or Yaoori. 
The distance between these two places is now found to be 
much greater than was generally or hitherto supposed. De 
Caille says, that from Timbuctoo to Haoussa is twenty days' 
navigation. The space, however, that intervenes, has been 
determined with considerable accuracy. Thus, Timbuctoo is 
situated in 17° 40' N. lat., and say 3° W. long. Saccatoo, seven 
days N.E. of Yaoori, is placed by Clapperton in 6° 2V E. long, 
and in 13° N. lat. but 7° E. long, may be taken to be its correct 
position. Yaoori has been ascertained to be in 1 1° 24' N. lat. 
and 5° 6' E. long. ; thus leaving a space of 8° 6' distance from 
the meridian of Timbuctoo. It is a remarkable fact that from 
his town named Cuphae, in E. long. 23° ^0, to Panagra in 31° 
20' of E. long., Ptolemy gives a space of 8° long., correspond- 
ing very nearly indeed with the distance and longitude between 

i 



114 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the modern Timbuctoo, which is on the very spot where 
Cuphas stood and Yaoori, &c. Cuphae he places in about 
18° N. lat., and Dudum in 15° N. lat., and 31° E. long. ; thus, 
giving a rapid declination of the river to the south ; for Panagra, 
in 16° N. lat., is placed by him in 31° 20' E. long., and which 
town is on the north bank of the Niger. Modern discoveries 
and researches have thus realized in a very remarkable manner, 
as we shall by and by see more at large, the accuracy of the 
accounts by this, we may say, the parent of Geography, 1700 
years ago. 

From Timbuctoo the Joliba runs under the more general name 
of the Kowara. The best account that we have of the progress 
of the river from Timbuctoo to Yaoori, is that given by Sidi 
Hamed,*' who travelled over the whole of the distance. From 
Cabra the river flows about seventy-five miles in a direc- 
tion a little to the southward of east. At this point, a mountain 
on the north bank turns the stream more to the south. On a 
line drawn from this point about E.S.E., Sidi Hamed travelled, 
the river at a considerable distance to the southward, describ- 
ing a curve like the arch of a bow. The country in the inter- 
mediate space was very hilly and woody. Near the mountain 
mentioned was a village named Bimbina, and eastward from it, 
and extending to the river, is the great kingdom and city 
named Ghou, or Kawkaw ; the name given to it by Batouta, 
and who describes it as the first place of importance on the 
Niger below Timbuctoo ; and the capital, which is situated in 
the land of Maly, as being " one of the finest cities in Soudan." 
More to the eastward is the place which he names Zagha, or 
as it is called by Sultan Bello, Segho or Sheegho, where Park, 
in his progress down the river, was attacked by a large party 
of the Tuarieks, whom he beat off with considerable slaughter. 
Proceeding 160 miles on the bearing above-mentioned, two large 
towns appear on the south bank of the river, one of which is 
the town of KafTo, mentioned by Park's guide in his account 
of their progress down the river. High mountains bore N.E. 
from this point. The stream pursued its course in a S.E. 

* The writer of this has had the opportunity to know, from unquestionable 
authority, that Sidi Hamed was a very intelligent man, and greatly superior in 
intelligence to most of his countrymen. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — KAFFO. 1 15 

direction for thirty-two miles, with several windings in its 
course. At the end of this distance the river comes to a very 
great ridge of mountains thickly covered with trees, and so 
abrupt and steep, that no path remained between the stream 
and the mountains. "It ran against the side of the steep 
mountain," says Sidi Hamed. From the summit of this ridge, 
" a large chain of high mountains was seen to the westward." 
In passing through this ridge, the river forms an acute bend to 
the S.W. In his rude delineation of the curve of the 
Kowara, Sultan Bello's schoolmaster lays down in this quarter 
a similar acute bend or curve. After a journey of six days 
(about forty miles) across this chain, which is <{ thickly covered 
with trees," the river is again approached on its north bank, 
where it is narrow and full of rocks, " which dash the water 
most dreadfully." Close to this is the point where the road 
from the country of Alfine, situated to the eastward of Lake 
Dibbie, to Jekky, crosses the river. According to Dupuis' 
information, " the water of the river was here very great," and 
the traveller is landed "at the great rocks" west of Kankaw- 
ansa. To the eastward of Kaffo, Park's guide stales that they 
came " to a very difficult passage, where rocks had barred the 
river," dividing it into three channels, through one of which 
they passed in safety, having been deterred from attempting one 
of the others on the opposite side, from the appearance of an 
army of natives, apparently in hostile array, assembled close to it. 
From this place the river pursues its course 126 miles in a 
S.E. direction, but with numerous windings, which indicate a 
more level country. " Many small streams" join the river in 
this space, from the eastward; a fact which shows elevated 
and cultivated countries to lie in that direction. Along the 
space, too, just mentioned, " high mountains were plainly 
discernible" to the westward. " The stream looked deep, but 
not very wide." At this point, says Sidi Hamed, Caravans 
rest, 432 geographical miles from Timbuctoo, where there is a 
ferry, and numerous canoes plying on the river. 160 miles 
from this point, in a south-easterly direction, the river passes 
Yaoori, which is clearly the Wassanah of Sidi Hamed, where 
the river, he states, turned and ran nearly to the south 
" between high mountains on both sides, though not very close 

i 2 



116 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



to the river" at Yaoori, facts which we know to be true, both from 
Lander and Clapperton. Yaoori has for many centuries been 
one of the greatest and most powerful states in that portion of 
the interior of Africa, and well-known centuries ago to the 
shores of the Atlantic, around the Delta of the Niger, and 
places to the westward thereof. Batouta mentions it under the 
name of Yuwi, and that it was at that time the most powerful 
state in the interior.* 

Yaoori is certainly the Wassanah of Sidi Hamed. The 
distance and the direction which he travelled from Timbuctoo, 
(592 miles,) corresponds exactly, and with no other place in 
that portion of Africa. His account of its great magnitude, 
which took him one day to go round, is confirmed by Lander; 
and its great commanding and commercial importance, adverted 
to by other authorities, is established by the fact in his (Sidi 
Hamed's) narrative, namely, that the king's son urged him to 
accomps ny him on a trading expedition, consisting of a great 
number of boats and slaves, to " the great water" or sea, a 
voyage of three months ; and where he would meet pale people, 
Christians, in great ships, and with great guns, &c. &c. Sidi 
Hamed also states that the river, at this place, turned and ran 
directly south. The following references will go to establish 
that Yaoori has been for centuries, and until of late years that 
its power has been broken by the Fallatahs, one of the greatest 
and most important states in this portion of Africa ; Batouta 
thus speaks of it 500 years ago. From Timbuctoo, he states, 
the Nile or the Niger "descends toZagha(the Sheego or Sogho 
of Sultan Bello), then to Kawkaw (Ghou); next to the town of 
Muli, which is the extreme district of Maly. It then goes to 
Yuwi (Yaoori), the greatest district of Soudan, and the king 
of which is the most potent. No white person can enter here ; 
for if you attempt to do so, they will kill them before he 
reaches it." Next in proof of its former power and extensive 
connexions, Dupuis says (p. xlii.), — "Two of my informants 
declared that they had performed the voyage from north to 
south, under the protection of the Sultan of Yaoori, as far as 
the gates of Benin ;" and which informants further added, that 

* Authorities for these sections of the work — Ptolemy, Batouta, Sidi Hamed, 
Sultan Bello, Dupuis, Bowditch, Shabeeny, Park's guide, L'Hage, Mahommed, 
Lander, Clapperton, and several native travellers. 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES — YAOORI. 117 



any traveller might go from Benin, by water, to Timbuctoo 
and Sego, without setting his foot on shore. 

Yaoori is about seventy miles north of Boussa, the inter- 
mediate space being filled by a very high chain of hills, which, on 
the east side, stretch away to the high mountains of Aushin ; 
and, on the west side, are called the mountains of Fagh, which 
run S.W. to the Jibbel Sargha range. Through this ridge the 
Niger bursts, running over a very rocky bed, and expanding to 
the northward of Boussa to the breadth of six miles, even in 
the dry season. The channel, however, is in different places 
very deep. Sultan Bello informed Clapperton that, even in the 
dry season, Park could have passed down the river at Boussa 
in safety, had he known the proper channel. On the north 
side, and at a short distance above Yaoori, the Niger receives 
the considerable river Quarramaor Cubbie, which springs in the 
granite range a little to the southward of Kashna, and runs by 
the capitals of Zamfra, Goober, and Saccatoo, increased by 
several rivers on either side. To the westward of this river, 
the Niger receives another stream from the N.E., which runs 
through the kingdom of Maury ; still further westward, 
another and more considerable stream, which comes in the 
same direction, and runs through the countries called Azwa 
and Taghzar ; and still more to the westward, a large river 
which passes by the town called Dody. This river is a 
remarkable feature in Ptolemy's Geography of this part of 
Africa, where he brings a stream descending from Mount 
Usurgala to the Niger at Panagra. Dupuis' informants parti- 
cularly mention this river and its position ; and Sidi Hamed 
states pointedly, that within the distance and from the direction 
mentioned, several streams join the Niger. The writers in the 
Encyclopasdia Britannica (5th edition), the Maps of Joannes 
Blaeav, &c. have a river here coming from the same quarter, 
240 miles below Timbuctoo ; then considering that place to be 
4 or 5 degrees more to the eastward than it really is. The 
country, in the parts alluded to, has both mountains and 
streams, and abundance of cattle, provisions, and fruits, so far 
as the confines of the Great Desert.* 

* Authorities for this section— Leo, Sultan Bello, Dupuis, Encyclopaedia 
Britannica (5th edition), and several native travellers. 



118 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



All these countries, to the north of the Niger, from Saccatoo 
to Ghou, are comprehended in the great district of Africa, 
called Marroa, elsewhere noticed. It was described to Dupuis 
as nearly resembling the N.W. portion of Haoussa, and to be 
a very fine country. The plough is used in the countries to 
the north, and also in some few situated to the south of the 
Niger; the manufactures of cotton goods, trinkets, cutlery, 
and other wares in it, are not inferior to those which are made 
in some parts of Morocco; corn and vegetables are represented 
to be abundant, and also that scarcely a piece of waste land is 
to be seen. Dupuis' information about the general state of the 
districts around the central course of the Niger is very im- 
portant. Besides the Niger, which runs through the heart of 
the greatest district of the whole, namely Fillany, and which 
district is bounded from Ghou to Haoussa by the Niger on the 
north, there are, adds Dupuis, " many other navigable streams 
connected with that river, both on the northern and the southern 
shores." Timbuctoo enjoys the supremacy amongst the cities 
in Fillany, although Taslima, Jinne, and Wakwari, are es- 
teemed larger and more populous. Fillany was the first im- 
portant conquest in Africa of the Moors from Morocco, as 
Marroa to the eastward was by the Arabs from Cairowan, at a 
very early period of their conquering history. The boundaries 
of this district have already been stated. It is of great extent, 
stretching eastward on the Niger from Ghou, to the borders of 
Haoussa, and from the Niger northwards, to the desert. "The 
land hereabouts," says Dupuis, (p. lxxxviii.) " is described as 
a sort of African Paradise, and the population is proportionally 
great ; numerous streams intersect the plains, some of which 
are of great magnitude, rolling volumes of water, southerly 
and easterly to the Niger." Ben Ali fully confirms this, 
for he states that from Timbuctoo to Haoussa, the banks 
of the Niger are better peopled and cultivated than the 
banks of the Nile in Egypt — and in fact surpassed only by 
the cultivation in England. — ( Proceedings of the African Asso- 
ciation, 1791. J 

With regard to Haoussa, Shabeeny states two or three 
curious particulars, which are worthy of notice ; he says that 
in Haoussa the hot winds come from the east; that it is then 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — YAOOHI. 



119 



hotter in Haoussa, than the summer is in Morocco, but 
that it is hotter at Timbuctoo than in Haoussa; in which 
country he states, at least in that part of the country where 
he was, that the rains are not so frequent and violent as in 
other parts of southern Africa. In Haoussa, he further 
states, that the cold winds come from the west, a fact which 
the position of the countries, as these have been described, 
fully confirms. 

Yaoori, the capital of the state of that name, is situated 
about four miles N.E. from the north bank of the Niger, and 
is described by Lander as being a very large place. The 
walls, he states, are thirty miles in circumference, and the 
population within them very large. Its position can be fixed 
with considerable accuracy. Boussa is situated in 10° 14' 
N. lat., according to a celestial observation made by Clapperton 
at the place. In going up the river from Boussa to Yaoori, 
at the close of the dry season, Lander took twenty-three to 
twenty-four hours to accomplish the distance. The current of 
the river was then very little ; the canoe-men, he says, pulled 
at a good rate, and generally made good way ; consequently, 
three miles per hour is a reasonable rate* to allow for his 
progress up the river to the point where he disembarked for 
Yaoori, which would give sixty-nine miles, and four more for 
the northing made good to the position of Yaoori. In de- 
scending the river from Yaoori to Boussa, Lander took nine- 
teen hours by water and five hours travelled by land from a 
point where he disembarked from the river above Boussa. 
When he descended the stream it was in flood, the current 
about three miles per hour, while the canoe-men, during the 
greater part of the voyage, pulled well. Four miles per hour 
is not an unreasonable allowance to make for the distance 
accomplished, with the deduction of five or six miles on 
account of the time occupied in stoppages at landing places, 
from going ashore and pushing into the middle of the stream. 
To the remaining distance must be added three miles, the 
distance due north, from Yaoori to the Cubbie river, on which 
Lander embarked very near its junction with the Niger. The 
distance thus taken by both modes of reckoning will closely 
agree, and make out seventy geographical miles as the diffe- 



120 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



rence of latitude betwixt Boussa and Yaoori, thus placing the 
latter in 11° 24' N. lat., and from other computations, subse- 
quently to be mentioned, in 5° 6' E. long., being thus a litde 
to the westward of both Boussa and Rabbah. Such is the 
position of this place, thus giving the course of the river below 
it to be a little to the eastward of south, as both the bearing 
by Clapperton, Lander, and the schoolmaster give to it. 

Immediately below Yaoori the Niger divides into several 
branches, and runs through a dreadfully rocky channel, here 
again bursting through another chain of mountains, the stu- 
pendous rocks on its banks throwing a dreadful gloom over 
the river for the distance of several miles. The channels, 
however, betwixt the rocks which divide the stream, are easily 
navigated during the dry season, and during the rainy season 
the whole are covered to a great depth. Above Garnacassa 
there is one channel a mile broad, and shallow; but Park 
passed through another channel that was deeper than this. 
At Garnacassa the river again unites in one stream, and, for 
several miles downwards towards Boussa, Lander describes 
the stream as being six miles broad, but in many places very 
shallow, and in other places with deep channels. 

Here we must quit the river and the account of the country 
adjoining this place, and turn for a moment to consider the 
tributaries which this great river receives from that vast space 
of country which stretches from near Jinne, eastward to a 
river at a point above mentioned, and from the Jibbel Sargha 
mountains to a stream on the north. We shall take the latter 
division first In this portion of the subject Sultan Bello and 
Dupuis must be our chief guides. In his geography of this 
part of Africa, his description of the country stretching west- 
ward is divided into three lines. First, from Yaoori westward, 
through Degomba to Maly. Secondly, the countries west- 
ward from Saccatoo to Massina. Thirdly, the countries from 
Saccatoo westward, on the N.E. bank of the Niger, and along 
that river to Timbuctoo. Immediate attention is directed to 
the two first of these divisions : first in the list is the province 
or state of Gourmon. Clapperton tells us that this state is 
eight days' journey north from Kiama in Barghoo. This state 
is placed on the west side of the Niger, in a direction nearly 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — MOUSIIEE. 121 



N.W. from Yaoori. " It is," says Sultan Bello, "extensive, 
and contains woods, sands, and various rivers," particu- 
larly one named the " Yaly," which is clearly the " OH" of 
Clapperton and Lander, which flows eastward, near Wawa, 
into the Niger. The great range of mountains called Fagh, 
which are very high, stretch westward from the Niger near 
Yaoori, bound the state of Gourmon on the S.E., and which 
mountains run on south-westerly to the great range of Jibbel 
Sargha, already mentioned, where the Rio Volta and other 
rivers of Ashantee take their rise. In this space and in this 
direction, according to the information obtained, both by 
Ledyard and Lucas, the hills or ranges, from a little distance 
S.W. of Kashna, are of a " stupendous height" all the way 
to the Gold Coast. This information has been confirmed by 
the accounts which Dupuis received concerning the ranges of 
mountains called Fagh and Jibbel Sargha, &c. Robertson 
heard that some were covered with snow; so also a seaman, 
formerly belonging to the Owen Glendower frigate, who 
travelled over them in his way to the Gold Coast, says, one 
had "a white cap," or snow. Leo also states, that the cold in 
Gago was so great during the winter, that to keep themselves 
warm the inhabitants clothed themselves with the skins of 
beasts. 

Westward of Gourmon, according to Sultan Bello, lies the 
country of Mousheer, or Moushee. " It is," says he, " exten- 
sive," and has a gold mine, that is, gold is found in that 
country. It contains rivers, woods, and mountains. Asses 
are very numerous in it, which animals are exported to 
Ghunjah, where they are employed to carry warlike stores. 
This country is specially mentioned by both Bowditch and 
Dupuis, and there is no disagreement as to the position in 
which both they and Sultan Bello place it. It is a country of 
considerable extent, and Kaybee, a little to the westward, may 
probably be included in it; in which place, according to 
Bowditch, asses are exceedingly numerous. On the right of 
Mooshee, that is, to the south, the great country of Assentai, 
or Ashantee, is situated. In this description by Sultan Bello, 
laconic as it is, we readily recognise the country of Moosee, 
or Mouzee, mentioned by Dupuis and others. North of 



122 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Mousheer, says Sultan Bello, lies the country of Sanghee, 
which is extensive, fertile, and well peopled. The inhabitants 
thereof are remnants of the Sanhaja, the wandering Arabs, 
and the Falatine. Beyond Sanghee, to the west, the very 
extensive province of Maly is situated. This province contains 
Bambarra, &c. &c. ; in short, it is the great country of Maly 
or Melli, which extends to the east as far as the boundary of 
the Mandingo nations, namely, to the boundary of Sanghee, 
and on the west to the Atlantic ocean. So far the accounts 
regarding these particular countries, furnished by Sultan Bello. 
There remains to notice the great country of Gago, which, 
from its position, there is no room to doubt, formed or included 
the great kingdom of Magho, mentioned by Dupuis, and also 
the state of Mooshee, mentioned by Sultan Bello. Major 
Rennell places Gago, the capital, to the north of Degomba, 
and in about 12° N. lat. and 3° E. long., which is not very far 
from being correct. Leo states that Gago was in his day a 
great kingdom, that it lay 400 Arabic miles to the southward 
of east from Timbuctoo, and that the merchants belonging to it 
were rich, and that every thing was abundant in the country. 
The people of Acca or Akim, on the shores of the Gulf of 
Guinea, carried on a great trade, according to Leyden's Africa, 
to Tonowa (Tonouma), Gago, and Meczara. At that time the 
frontiers of Acca was said to extend to Tonouma. When 
Leo visited Gago it was bounded by Melli on the west, 
and by Yarba or Yarribah on the S.E., which clearly 
points out not only its great magnitude, but its position; and 
that at the time mentioned by Leo, it included all the countries 
and states now known under the names of Magho, Mouzee, &c. 
Sir George Collier (see Report to House of Commons, June, 
1820) states, that to this day, or rather to that time, Dahomy 
carries on a great trade with Gago and Meczara. The writer 
in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 5th ed., states that Gago 
was situated to the southward of Timbuctoo and Hoaussa, and 
near to the north side of a chain of hills which run from east 
to west ; from which chain issued many rivers that flow north to 
the Niger. The same authority places Dahomy, as it really is, 
to the southward of Gago. It has been considered necessary 
to be as particular as possible about these countries and places, 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — SIRBA — HAJRI. 12o 



in order to ascertain as correctly as we can their true position ; 
as also to show both that rivers run through them, and that these 
rivers bend, as they must bend, their courses northward to the 
Niger ; while the different authorities just referred to, go to 
confirm and to elucidate the important information which 
Dupuis received when at Coomassie, regarding all these 
matters. 

Sultan Bello, in his African Geography already referred to, 
places to the west of the Niger, in the middle route to Jinne, 
different countries ; the first beyond Gourmon and nearest the 
Niger is Bitenkoobi ; the inhabitants of this country are Felans, 
and it abounds with mountains, plains, &c. Next and west 
from this is the country of Maazo-Moudi, a low mountainous 
country, and beyond this is the country of Yaghra, which con- 
tains woods, small mountains, and a well-known deep river 
called Yali ; and between Yaghra and Maazo-Moudi through 
stony plains, is the well-known river called Sirba. Beyond 
Yaghra, through woody plains and low ground, is the country 
of Sebtako, the inhabitants of which are also Felans. This 
country abounds with horses and cattle, is hilly, and has a large 
lake called Doura. Beyond this, through desert plains, in the 
midst of which there is a large lake called Bookma, is the 
country of Jelghooji. This country is mountainous, and has a 
well-known lake called Jaboo, besides a great many wells ; the 
inhabitants are Felans, and possess a great many swift horses, 
oxen, and other cattle. This country is placed, in the rude 
delineation which accompanies the narrative, in a position where 
it will lie to the northward of west from Magho, and to the 
eastward of it is Yaghra, and in the midst of the plains the well- 
known river called Sirba. Beyond the country of Jelghooji is 
the country of Hajri, already mentioned, situated seven days' 
journey to the eastward of Massina, and which contains the 
remarkable mountain Dombori, previously alluded to, situated 
in, or rather forming a part of, that great range of hills which 
Dupuis was informed lay to the eastward of Jinne. This more 
minute description of the portion of Africa under review, will 
serve to give the reader a clearer idea of the country; at the 
same time it conveys the information that there are many rivers 
in those districts, and also that the country being so moun- 



124 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



tainous and woody, must in every part afford supplies to rivers. 
That rivers, such as are about to be mentioned, do flow, and 
very nearly in the directions stated, through this part of Africa, 
the physical features of the country render certain, and at the 
same time these require such drains for carrying off the springs 
and the waters which are to be found in them. We are decidedly 
informed by Dupuis, that the whole country from Magho to 
Jinne westward, and from Magho to the Niger towards the 
north and the east, is exceedingly mountainous and woody ; 
which is the reason given why the Moors and the Arabs have 
never been able wholly to subdue the nations in those parts of 
Africa ; because cavalry, which is their chief force, cannot act 
with the same effect as in those countries which are more open. 
Secondly. — Dupuis' informants, who seem to have been well 
acquainted with all the interior parts of this vast district, point- 
edly state that there is a great river running eastward from the 
country in the neighbourhood of Jinne, almost parallel with the 
course of the Niger, betwixt which river and the Gulbe of 
Ghoroma there is a water communication. It is best in the 
first place to give the sereferences in his own words; page xcii. 
he states, " The Gulbe of Magho, after a long eastern course 
inclining to the north, runs into the Nooffy river," which is 
the Niger: at pagexciii. he proceeds, " The Gulbe is said also 
to flow easterly upon a parallel with the Kowara, which it joins, 
as has been related in Haoussa. A diversity of opinion pre- 
vailed upon the topic of its source, some maintaining that its 
fountain existed in the chain of mountains before mentioned 
between Kong and the river Ahmar, whilst others affirmed that 
the Gulbe itself was a branch separated from the Kowara by a 
ridge of mountains in the vicinity of Janny, (Jinne,) and that 
the navigation of this southern limb was open and unobstructed 
from Janny to Ghoroma, the capital of Magho, through Kom- 
bori ; perhaps the latter was the prevailing opinion." We are 
now so well acquainted with what the African Moors mean by 
water communications from place to place, after the manner re- 
lated, and which very often implies not only rivers running from a 
particular portion of the country in parallel lines, but in opposite 
directions, that we readily perceive the true meaning of the 
above statement, and thus the account which De Caille has given 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — GULBE, ETC. 125 

us of the river Kowara Ba descending from the south to Jinne, 
gives us clearly to perceive the meaning of the information here 
conveyed to Dupuis. 

We are warranted, therefore, in bringing a branch of the 
Niger under the name of Gulbe, a name generally applied to great 
rivers in every part of Africa, from the centre of the mountainous 
range which certainly stands to the eastward of Jinne. The 
source of this branch most probably is near the remarkable 
mountain of Dombori ; while from the nature and extent of the 
country to the southward, it is extremely probable that more to 
the eastward a branch may join on the southern side, flowing 
from the S.W., which will explain the statement made by some 
to Dupuis, that the source of the Gulbe lay towards the country 
of Kong. Mr. Dupuis informs us that travellers go northward 
from Magho to the heathen kingdom of Gotto, with which the 
information he received led him to believe the communication 
could be made by water, connected with the lake Konsagho, 
situated six days' journey to the northward from Andary, where 
the Gulbe is quitted on the second day after leaving Ghoroma, 
in the way to the lake mentioned; and that after leaving lake 
Konsagho and marching eastward, the traveller again comes to 
the river Gulbe. The lake Konsagho here mentioned by Dupuis, 
is as nearly as possible on the spot where Sultan Bello places the 
lake Doura, and thus we find that the river which comes from the 
westward communicates with this lake; and this lake, by means of a 
river running from it, with the river of Ghoroma, also called Gulbe. 
Whether or not the two lakes previously mentioned, called 
Bookma and Jabboo, communicate with the river from the west- 
ward, there is no authority to state ; but it is probable that they do, 
and it may be also that the river in question passes through them, 
for it must pass near or upon the positions in which they are placed. 
In the notice of the mountains called Jibbel Sargha, the source of 
the river Ghoroma on the north side of that chain was distinctly 
pointed out, and which, joining and running through the country 
of Moushee, descends to Ghoroma, where the magnitude of the 
stream has become so considerable that the passage for two 
days above Ghoroma may be made by water. Bending its 
course to the north-eastward, this river will form a junction with 
the one from the westward, which latter above the junction, or 



126 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



probably even the united stream, may bear the name of Sirba, 
as mentioned by Sultan Bello. The designation which he gives 
this stream, namely, " the well-known river Sirba," points out 
that it is a river of no ordinary importance. Proceeding eastward, 
this river probably joins the Niger, about eight days' journey 
above Yaoori, and seven days' journey below the ferry, men- 
tioned by Sidi Hamed, and where it must be a very considerable 
stream. The town of Ghoro, mentioned by one of Dupuis' 
informants as being in the route from Ghoroma to Kashna, and 
in that part of it which is to the south of the Niger, appears to 
stand on this river, though the exact point cannot be ascertained, 
and there his informants stated that " the water of the river 
was very broad." 

That a river of great magnitude joins the Niger in this 
part, cannot admit of a doubt. Besides what has been 
already stated in proof of this, we have the comparative mag- 
nitude of the Niger at Timbuctoo and at Yaoori, taken in 
exactly the corresponding period of the year, as a further 
proof: at the latter, the stream is described to be at least 
double the breadth that it is at the former, viz., as three- 
quarters of a mile is to above a mile and a half. Now from the 
N. and from the N.E., no great rivers either in number or 
magnitude flow to the Niger, to increase its volume to this extent. 
It is exceedingly probable that, a river does join the Niger from 
the N.E., in the neighbourhood of Ghou, and somewhere near 
the village of Bimbina, where the mountains, as Sidi Hamed 
tells us, bend the Niger from its eastern course. At or near 
this point, certainly stood the Nigira metropolis of Ptolemy, 
who makes a river join the Niger at this place from the quarter 
mentioned; but then it is clear, from the nature of the country, 
and the desert being so near, that it cannot be very large. If 
it had been large, Sidi Hamed would probably have mentioned 
it. After passing the great chain of mountains so often alluded 
to, Sidi Hamed states that the stream <f looked deep but not 
very wide," thus indicating his opinion that the magnitude of 
the stream at this place, and at Timbuctoo, was not materially 
different. It is below the spot where he made this observa- 
tion, that the larger supplies to the Niger, both from the N.E. 
and from the S.W. certainly come, and which increase the 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. — BOUSSA. 



127 



magnitude of the Niger to be so much greater at Yaoori than 
it is at Timbuctoo. That such a river as that alluded to joins the 
Niger from the S.W. we have another proof, in the fact stated 
by Shabeeny, that at the port of Haoussa, clearly and cer- 
tainly below where the junction takes place, he found the 
stream deeper and larger than what it was at Timbuctoo. To 
all these authorities and remarks it may be added, that both 
D'Anville and De Lisle, bring a river flowing from the S.W. 
to join the Niger in the same quarter. 

It was at Boussa that Park, our unfortunate countryman, 
and the only companion of his laborious travels, Martyn, 
perished, four months after leaving Sansanding. They left 
the latter place on the 17th November, 1805, and according to 
Amadi Fatouma, their guide, they passed Jinne, and presented 
the chief with a piece of baft, and then proceeded on their 
voyage. It was probably three weeks after this, that they 
passed Cabra, as a letter was received at Mogadore in March, 
1806, by a merchant there, from his correspondent at Timbuc- 
too, which must have been written in December ; which letter 
stated, that a boat with some Christians had arrived from the 
westward at Cabra, and which after stopping part of a day and a 
night, went on, the inhabitants not understanding their signal 
of peace. According to Amadi Fatouma's account, they were 
here attacked, and killed one native in beating them off. 
Sultan Bello states that they stopped for some time above 
Timbuctoo, with the son of the sovereign of that place, who 
received and treated them kindly. After leaving Cabra, they 
proceeded down the river, and passing Ghourouma, they were 
attacked by a great number of canoes full of armed natives, at 
a place called Gottoijege, in the kingdom of Ghourouma, or 
Ghou. These however they repulsed, after, says Amadi Fa- 
touma, killing a vast number of them. Sultan Bello confirms 
the fact of this engagement, and says that it was at Gharwal- 
gao, the same as Ghou, in the country of Shego, that they 
were attacked by the Tuaricks, who were defeated with much 
loss. On the side of Park, one if not more persons were 
killed. They then proceeded down the river, navigating below 
KafFo, through a dreadful rocky part of the stream, where it was 
divided by the rocks into three channels. This is clearly amidst 



128 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

the high ridge of mountains described by Sidi Hamed, as has 
already been noticed, and part of the range running westward on 
the south side of the Niger, called by Dupuis, the mountains 
of Batako. After this they came to Carmasse ; next to Gour- 
mon, and next to Yaoori, where Park did not land, and where 
Amadi Fatouma left him in terms of his agreement. No time 
is given betwixt these places, and therefore we are left to ascer- 
tain it by Amadi Fatouma's journal, which says it was four 
months after leaving Sansanding. This is confirmed by the 
accounts received by Clapperton and others, that it was during 
the feast of the Rhamadan, or towards the end of March. 
From Yaoori, Park proceeded downwards, but mistaking the 
deepest channel of the river, he approached too close to the 
western side, and was there attacked by the population of 
Boussa ; and to avoid them, and perhaps, as he considered, a 
worse fate, he jumped with Martyn into the water, where both 
were drowned : the canoe, books, and papers, and some 
servants became the prize of the victors. One of the bodies 
was found and buried ; and, according to the account given to 
Bowditch by an eye-witness, the other floated down the stream 
to the island of Gange, probably Gongoo, where it was found and 
interred. Various accounts are given by the native travellers 
of the causes which led to this fatal and much-to-be-lamented 
catastrophe ; but that received by Clapperton at Saccattoo, during 
his second journey, is by far the most probable and reasonable, 
and no doubt accurate, namely, that his arrival was at a time 
when the Fallatahs were attempting to penetrate into these 
parts; that the people of Boussa, taking them to be the vanguard 
of these dreaded and destructive enemies, accordingly watched, 
and assailed them, with the fatal result which has been stated. 
None of Park's papers have ever been recovered, which is 
deeply to be regretted. Had he escaped at Boussa, ten days 
more would have brought him to the sea, and to a glorious ter- 
mination to all his fatigues, labours, and dangers. 

From Boussa, the course of the river downwards is, by 
compass, from NN.W. to SS.E. ; but regarding the stream 
at this important point, our accounts are not so clear and 
satisfactory as could be wished, or as they might have been. 
Lander has given as the great breadth of the stream, at a 



THE NIGER, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



129 



short distance above Boussa, to be about six miles. A short 
space below Boussa, at the village of Songha, Clapperton 
gives the breadth of the river to be three-fourths the breadth 
of the Thames at Somerset House, when it is high water, and 
with a current of two miles and a half per hour ; and at the 
ferry at the village of Comie, the breadth is said to be a 
quarter of a mile, the current two miles per hour, and the 
depth in the middle ten or twelve feet, in the dry season. 
This appears a diminutive and inconsistent account of the 
magnitude of a stream which, both above and below this place, 
is said to be, and known from the best authorities, to be so 
much greater. Lander and Clapperton had recourse, in order to 
account for this difference, to the opinion that the river at Boussa 
has large subterraneous passages, such as are to be found in 
calcareous countries.* This, to a certain extent, may be the 
case ; but, after all, they may have under-estimated the breadth, 
and still more under-estimated the speed of the current. On 
this latter point, every thing depends. Clapperton mentions, 
that in going from Boussa to Comie, and when at some 
distance to the westward of the stream, he heard " the Quorra 
roaring" over its rocky bed ; and in another place, that he saw 
the stream dashing with great violence against the rocks which 
rose on its bank. These facts show that the current must have 
been very rapid. Now the quantity of water discharged by 
any stream through any given space, is as the square of the 
velocity of its current. Hence, any river with a current of four 
miles per hour, will discharge sixteen times as much water in 
the same space of time, that another river will do with a current 
at the rate of only one mile an hour, and one hundred times as 
much if the current is increased to the rate of ten miles per 
hour; and so on in proportion, either increasing the quantity 
of water discharged, or narrowing the channel. Hence we 
find, that the great river Congo, which is three miles broad 
above the cataracts, is compressed, at one of the greatest of 
those rapids called Sangalla, within a breadth of fifty yards. 

* The bed of the Niger near Boussa, is, according to Lander, six miles broad, 
and composed of banks of large round stones, bare in the dry season. Amidst the 
vortices of these, a vast body of water would quickly disappear. Such is the case 
with the great river Cuanene, in Southern Africa, tbe mouth of which, during the 
dry season, appears without water from the cause alluded to. 

K 



130 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



From Boussa the Niger proceeds about SS.E. until it passes 
Rabbah, situated in 9° N. lat. and 5° 11' E. long. From 

the junction of the Moussa the Niger flows along the northern 
base of the Kong mountains in a direction a little to the south- 
ward of east until it approaches the village of Cuttum Currafee, 
when it turns to the south and is joined by the great river 
Shadda, or Shaderbah, from the east. At a short distance above 
Egga it receives the Coodonia, and further west, near the island 
of GongoOj the Kontankora river on the north side. About 20 
miles above Egga, Lander passed the island of Gongoo, situated 
in the middle of the river. This is the island of Gongoo which 
Ben Ali mentions in his journey from Kashna to Yarba, or 
Yarribah, and where, according to him, the river was 24 feet 
deep, and " the width such, that even at the island of Gongoo, 
where the ferryman resides, the sound of the loudest voice from 
the northern shore is scarcely heard." This island was named 
by Mr, Bowditch's informant, Gangee; and on this island so 
named, as stated also by other travellers, the body of either Park, 
or Martyn, his fellow-traveller, was found, having been carried 
down the river from Boussa to that place. The Niger in this 
part of its course, according to both Lander and Oldfield, had. 
during the rainy season a most magnificent appearance, being 
generally from two to three miles wide. 

From Boussa to the Niger near Rakkah, that river receives 
three tributaries from the westward. The first is the Menai, 
which rises in the mountains of Fagh, and enters the Niger 
close to Boussa. This stream, which has but a short course, is 
called the water of Wada, from its passing Wada, the capital of 
the country called Wawa. Where it joins the Niger it is about 
20 yards broad and 12 feet deep, but with a sluggish current. 
Thirty miles below Boussa a considerable stream, named the 
Oli or Yali, joins the Niger. This stream rises in the moun- 
tainous country to the N.W. of Nikky. The bed of this river is 
very rocky : during the rainy season it is not fordable, and 
the current then is very strong; at the close of the dry season 
it was 40 paces broad and 8 feet deep. To the southward of 
this is the river Moussa, which joins the Niger a little below 
the town of Rakkah, and to the southward of Rabbah, which 
latter town is situated on the east bank of the Niger. The Moussa 



COUNTRY FROM BADAC-RY TO KATUN GAM. 



131 



springs in the mountains to the northward of Ghofil and to the 
eastward of Gamba, and flows past Nikky, the capital of Berghoo. 
Its bed is also very rocky. To the southward of Kiama the 
stream during the dry season is very narrow, but with a strong 
current ; during the rainy season, however, it brings down a 
vast body of water. A short distance above Rakkah, this 
river is joined by a stream called the Juffie, which flows from 
the S.W. and the northern front of the Kong chain of hills. 
The Oli is called by the travelling Moors, Doodirba, and the 
Moussa, Kadarko. Kiama, sometimes reckoned the capital of 
Berghoo, or Killingha, contains 30,000 inhabitants ; but Nikky 
is a still larger and more important commercial city. The land 
throughout all this district of Africa is very fertile, generally 
well cultivated, the population extensive, and the large towns 
very numerous and very populous. 

THE COUNTRY FROM BADAGRY TO KATUNGAII. 

Lander and Clapperton inform us, that having landed 
through a terrible surf near Badagry, they, soon after leaving 
the beach, came to the river Formosa, one mile broad, which 
they crossed, and then came to the town mentioned. The 
river here mentioned is not the river Formosa, but a branch 
from that river and the Lagos River, which runs along the 
coast at a very short distance from the sea, all the way to the 
Rio Volta. From Badagry, 6° 26' N. lat. and 2° 43' 30" 
E. long., they proceeded on their route to Katungah. After 
passing Bidge, twenty miles from the coast, they crossed a 
river, which Clapperton says was a quarter of a mile broad, and 
full of low swampy islands and floating reeds. Lander says, 
that they were an hour and a half in crossing it in a canoe, 
owing, as it would appear, to the rapidity of the current, and 
that the other canoes carrying the rest of the party were 
equally long in effecting their passage. This stream is the 
Lagos River, called the Komashar, in its upper and its early 
course. Proceeding northward, they came to Afoora, fifty- 
five geographical miles from the coast in a direct line ; before 
reaching it, they crossed the river Akkeni, which with other 
streams in that quarter, flow N. W. (S.E.) to join a larger river 
which falls into the Lagos River. The Akkeni is full of sunken 



132 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



rocks. The town called Assouda beyond it contains 10,000 
inhabitants ; and the town of DufFoo south of it from 10,000 to 
12,000. Beyond Afoora, says Clapperton, the country was 
beautiful, and the valleys filled with streams of water, all run- 
ning from the N. W. At the town of Choco, more to the north, 
and about eighty-five geographical miles in a direct line from 
Badagry, they came to the southern base of the range of hills, 
generally called the Kong range, rising 2,500 feet above the 
level of the land to the south, and extending in breadth about 
seventy-five miles to the north, and running from W.N.W. to 
E.S.E., through Jaboo and Benin. These mountains are 
composed of granite ; the country amongst them is exceedingly 
picturesque, fruitful, populous, well cultivated, and studded 
with towns and villages. As the travellers advanced towards 
the northern summits, the scenery became more grand and 
magnificent. Approaching the populous town of Choki, about 
150 miles in a direct line from the sea, they travelled through 
a tremendous pass, the country northward rising hill above hill, 
and rock above rock, in proud magnificence, until they came to 
Choki, situated on the very summit of the highest ridge. 
There the air was cool, the atmosphere clear, and the prospect 
around most magnificent. From the sea-coast to the town of 
Choco, the land rises regularly and gently to the base of the 
Kong range. Entering this range, and in passing through it, 
the scenery is everywhere very grand. In some places the 
immense and lofty granite masses appear in rude and fearful 
positions, as if they had been torn asunder by some terrible 
convulsion of nature. The verdure amongst these ranges is 
unfading, and the trees in many places of stupendous magni- 
tude. Choki was stated to be only one days' journey on 
horseback, NN.W. from the country of Berghoo ; and Clap- 
perton was told by the chief of Choki, that the mountains 
through which they were travelling passed through Ghunjah, 
thirty-five days' journey distant W. N. W. ; and that they con- 
tinue to the eastward, or E.S.E. through Yarribah and Benin. 
From the town of Layboo, near the parallel of 9°, Berghoo 
was represented to be only one day's journey distant ; and 
from Namah, a walled town, a little more to the north, the 
capital of the country of Berghoo, was stated to be only 



DELTA OF THE NIGER CAMEROON S, ETC. lo3 

one day's journey distant. Beyond Namah, at the distance of 
three quarters of an hour of travel, they crossed a stream 
called JulKe, which runs into the Kowara opposite Nyfle. 
The Jufh'e must be a branch of the Moussa, and probably 
joins that stream near Rakkah. Beyond Tschou, and one 
hour's travel from Anchoran, they crossed a stream which 
flowed into the Kowara, there only three days' journey distant. 
Katungah, the capital of Yarribah, is situated a little to the 
eastward of this stream, in N. Lat. 8° 59', and in E. Long., 
from corrected notices, 4° 41'. This capital stands in a fine 
valley, at the base of a high range of granite-hills, which form 
its boundary wall on the east, while westward the valley 
stretches out as far as the eye can reach. Katungah is a place 
of considerable importance, but not so much now as it formerly 
was, yet it contains a large population. The walls of the town 
are about fifteen miles in circumference : the diameter of the 
city one way being six miles, and the other four miles. Cotton 
is abundant, and much cloth is here manufactured from it. 
Every evening there are seven different markets held in the 
town. The king of Yarribah told Clapperton that the 
Moussa, which was only three days' journey distant, came 
from the N. W.* 

DELTA OF THE NIGER— CAMEROONS, &C. 

The Delta of the Niger next requires our attention. The 
researches of Bosman and other old navigators, and latterly the 
voyages of Lander, Laird, &c, place this important portion of 
Africa with sufficient accuracy before us ; and it is remarkable 
how the latest and most accurate of these confirm the accounts 
given by the old Dutch navigator, and others, who sixty years 
ago traded to that quarter. To commence with the Bight of 
Benin. Here we have first the great river Formosa, so 
named on account of the exceedingly beautiful scenery upon 
its banks. At its mouth it is nearly four British miles broad, 
with two bars; the outer of hard sand; the inner of mud, on 
which there are thirteen and fourteen feet water. Inwards it 
deepens to five or six fathoms, with, at all times, a considerable 

* Authorities for these sections : — Clapperton, Lander, Dupuis, Sheeref 
Inhanimed, Sultan Bello, Oldfield, aad various native travellers. 



134 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



current, but during the rains, to the velocity of five or six 
knots per hour. About ten miles from its mouth, a navigable 
branch flows off to the westward, through what is called the 
Cradoo Lake to the Lagos, running within a short distance of 
the sea ; in fact, separated only by a sand-bank, thrown up by 
the waves, which beat most violently on that part of the coast. 
About twenty miles upwards, it is joined by the Gatto Creek, 
a tributary, says Robertson, to the Formosa, and formed 
probably by some mountain streams. About twenty miles 
from the Formosa, and at the head of this creek, and to which 
the tide extends, is situated the village of Gatto, or Agatton, 
and the kind of Port of Benin,y or rather of the capital of 
Benin, called Oedo by the old Portuguese navigators, situated 
inland about ten or fifteen miles NN. E. The course of the 
Formosa, upwards to the point where the Niger divides into 
branches, is nearly east to west. " It meanders," says Robert- 
son, p. 297, " through a fine, fertile, and numerously peopled 
country." 

Robertson states, that at Lagos he met five Arab travellers, 
who, from the account which they gave him of themselves, 
must have been from Fezzan, and who told him they came 
from Lake Issebee, the point where the water separated into 
three streams, in five days ; but " that the water," to use their 
own phrase, " run fast then," being in August. In this we 
recognise the lake of Lander above Eboe, a large lake, when 
the river is in full flood, but when it subsides several feet, a 
bank in the middle rises above the water and forms an island. 
Where the Rio de Formosa branches off above Eboe,* the 
branch, according to Laird, (see vol. i. p. 112,) is from ten 
feet to six fathoms deep and 800 yards wide, with a strong 
current. Lander pointedly mentions this branch, (vol. iii. 

* The comparative distances between Eboe and the mouth of the Nun, and to 
Benin, is given by Laird, vol. i. p. 101, thus : to Benin, four days; to Brass or 
mouth of the Nun, seven days ; others four days to the Nun, and seven from it. 

Captain Beecroft surveyed the branch from the mouth of the Nun to the 
junction of the Shadda, and has made an excellent chart thereof. He was sent 
by his employer last year to the Formosa, in order to take the preparatory steps 
for a mercantile expedition, to go up it into the interior this season, and in which 
he is at this time engaged. In the mouth of the Formosa, he in July last writes, 
" this is a princely river compared to the Brass, (Nun) and I have no doubt is 
the great navigable outlet of the Niger." 



DELTA OF THE NIGER — CAMEROONS, ETC. 



135 



p. 171,) exclusive of the branch at Kirree. Oidfield, (vol. ii. 
p. 1 12,) places the point of the separation of this branch about 
one hour's navigation above the separation of the Bonny 
branch. The next Great Benin branch, or the Rio dos 
Forcados, is below Eggaboo, lat. 5° 26', and is from 600 to 
700 yards wide, (Laird, vol. i. p. 89,) and six, seven, and 
eight fathoms deep, having a stronger current and being 
deeper than the Nun. Oidfield, Beecroft, and Lander speci- 
fically mention this branch.* Southward of the mouth of the 

* But on these important points it is considered proper to give the statements 
of the different writers, in their own words. 

" At seven a. m. we saw a small river enter the Niger from the eastward, the 
banks of which, as well as those of the Niger, were elevated and fertile. Shortly 
after we observed a branch of the river running off to the westward, about the 
same size as that from the eastward. On the right bank of this river, close also 
to the bank of the Niger, we observed a large market, which I was informed is 
Kirree ; and that the river, flowing to the westward past it, runs to Benin. A 
great number of canoes were lying near the bank." — Lander, vol. iii. p. 132. 

" We soon after passed Kirree, and a fine branch of a river, supposed to run 
from Benin, the first reach of it lying about south-west half west. At half-past 
four p.m. we passed another branch running to the north-east, which is said to 
lead to Fundah." — Oidfield, vol. ii. p. 137. 

We got under weigh at six p.m., and proceeded on our course by moonlight 
until past eight, when it became thick and foggy, and we anchored in two 
fathoms water. Between six and seven we passed a branch of a river leading to 
Benin. Started next morning at six a.m., and at half-past nine came to anchor 
off Eboe."— Oidfield, p. 242, 

" We now found ourselves on an immense body of water, like a lake, having 
gone a little out of the road, and at the mouth of a very considerable river, 
flowing to the westward, it being an important branch of the Niger ; another 
branch also ran from hence to the south-east, while our course was in a south- 
westerly direction on the main body ; the whole forming, in fact, three rivers of 
considerable magnitude. The banks were all low and swampy, and completely 
covered with palm-trees." 

" An hour or two after this, or about mid-day, one of the Eboe men in our 
canoe exclaimed, ' There is my country !' pointing to a clump of very high trees, 
which was yet at some distance before us ; and, after passing a low fertile island, 
we quickly came to it." — Lander, vol. iii. p. 171. 

" At eight o'clock in the evening of the 9th of November we left Eboe, and 
by the light of a splendid moon, threaded our way through a very intricate navi- 
gation until two o'clock in the morning of the 10th; when, being in very shoal 
water, we came to anchor about fifteen miles from the town. This was the 
widest part of the river that we had yet seen ; its breadth cannot be less than 
3000 yards; and here the river throws off its great branches, the Benin and 
Bonny (what I presume to be these rivers). We crossed the Benin branch, and 



136 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Formosa we have the Rio clos Escravos, called also the Brody^ 
up which slave-trading ships penetrate to the town of Warree. 
Next to this is the mouth of the Rio dos Forcados, which has 
an island in its mouth, between which and the northern bank 
is two British miles, but only eight feet water. Next, and 
third, is the Dodo; and fourthly, a little to the westward of 
Cape Formosa, we have several unnamed branches.* East- 
ward of Cape Formosa we have the Nun branch, down which 
Lander first descended, and up which Laird and Oldfield 
ascended, and down which they afterwards descended. It is 
much smaller than the Formosa, and throws off such a number 
of branches that it becomes so narrow near the sea as to be 
navigable for only small vessels, having in several places only 
eight or nine feet water, and the breadth, in Louis Creek, from 
thirty to forty yards. Going eastward, there are five different 
outlets betwixt the Nun and the great estuary of the New 
Calabar and Bonny rivers, which estuary is eleven miles 
broad, very deep, and navigable for ships of any tonnage. 
The course of the New Calabar is from the N.W., and that 
of the Bonny from the N. E. At twenty miles from the sea, 
the New Calabar is six fathoms deep. The Bonny River 
divides, and throws off a considerable branch, the Andonny, or 
St. Anthony's River, and which enters the sea considerably to 
the eastward, thus forming an island of considerable dimensions. 
The current, out of the estuary of the Bonny and New Calabar 
River, is strong and rapid, discharging a vast volume of water 
into the sea. The rush of water, says Sir George Collier, in 
his Report to Government, that issues from the outlet in 
question, is so great and powerful, that it can only proceed from 
its being one of the embouchures of a great river. Twenty 
rivers of great magnitude enter the sea through this delta, all 
derived from the Niger ; and such is the volume of fresh water 
which they pour into the sea, that it is stated, vessels are found 

found it about 800 yards wide, with a depth varying from ten feet to six 
fathoms. The Bonny branch appeared to run out in a SS.E. direction ; but as 
we were some distance from it, I cannot speak from personal knowledge of its 
size and depth." — Laird, vol. i. p. 111. 

* The branch which flows off from the Nun, and which unquestionably forms 
all these rivers, the Dodo included, is, according to Oldfield, at the point of sepa- 
ration, 500 yards broad. 



DELTA OF THE NIGER CAMEROON*, ETC. 



137 



to be sailing hours together in fresh water, without the smallest 
mixture of the water of the ocean, even to the distance of 
twenty-five miles from Cape Formosa. 

Eastward of Andonny River we come, first, to the estuary of 
Old Calabar River, and next, to the estuary of the R.io del 
Rev River. The former is twelve miles broad, and is, in fact, 
in some measure, an arm of the sea, which penetrates and 
widens upwards to the distance of sixty miles to the north. 
It is formed by the waters of Cross River, a branch of the 
Niger, and by Old Calabar River. In many maps Cross 
River is laid down as entering into the inlet from the N.E., 
and the Old Calabar river a little more to the south from 
the same quarter. The name Cross River is of itself a proof 
that it comes from the Niger. Robertson, who knew that 
coast well, asserts that it did ; the late French maps and 
charts, constructed for the use of the French navy, lay it down 
in a similar manner ; and these maps also lay down the tribu- 
tary to Old Calabar River, as descending directly from the 
north, which, considering every thing, especially the very high 
lands to the north-westward, is extremely probable. Next, as 
regards Cross River, its direction and connexion with the 
Niger is settled by the account transmitted by Mr. Colthurst, 
a traveller who, a few years ago (1832), set out to explore the 
interior from this point, and who engaged canoes from Duke 
Ephraim, or rather the other engaged canoes and assistants 
for him, which were to carry him to Eboe and the Niger by- 
means of the Cross River. No doubt therefore can any longer 
remain on this point. Mr. Colthurst unfortunately died at 
the capital of Duke Ephraim's country, about sixteen miles up 
the Old Calabar or Bongo, before he had entered upon bis 
journey for the interior. In his communication to the Royal 
Geographical Society in England, he pointedly states, that by 
means of the Cross River, the people about the Old Calabar 
inlet traded with the Niger and Eboe. The Old Calabar River 
does not belong to the Niger, but comes from the east and 
south-east. A short distance by land from it, over a hilly 
country, brings the traveller to Fundah. Cross River he also 
pointedly states communicates with the Niger. 
. Captain Cummins of Liverpool, who traded to these parts 



138 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



during the space of fifteen years, has lately given the writer of 
this some valuable information regarding Old Calabar and Cross 
Rivers, which has been adopted in the construction of the map of 
those parts. Where he quitted the Old Calabar it was one- 
third of a mile broad, and six fathoms deep, but the natives told 
him that its course from the eastward was not long, and this 
also is his own opinion, as there was no trade on it except for red 
wood. It can have no communication with the Cameroons, be- 
cause the natives around its banks, who wish to go to Cameroons, 
descend and proceed by the Old Calabar. The tide rises seven 
feet in ordinary tides at Duke's Town, and nine feet in spring 
tides. Its rise in Cross River is about the same. He had been 
through the whole of the creek which runs into Cross River, 
and found it one quarter of a mile broad and three fathoms 
deep. He had also been in Cross River to about the parallel 
of 6°, with a ship of 450 tons. The rush of water on the turn 
of the tide is exceedingly strong. Below Acricock, a creek or 
branch enters from the west, which communicates with Egbo- 
shary, a great oil country, and to which canoes and traders from 
the Bonny resort. At Acricock the river is 400 yards wide. 
Captain Cummins stated that his mate went up it in a canoe 
paddled actively by negroes, during the space of three days and 
three nights ; but unfortunately, Captain Cummins cannot re- 
member the direction or bearing which was taken ; but Captain 
Oldfield subsequently gave the information which enabled me 
to place it correctly on the map. The country to which the 
mate went was called Botseraen, and the people are described 
as a superior race. The Bonny and Old Calabar traders meet 
in the Egboshary markets, and Bonny and Old Calabar canoes 
and traders are found in the markets of Eboe, Iddah, &c. ; com- 
plete proofs that all these places are connected by water com- 
munication. Captain Cummins saw no mountains at the highest 
point to which he ascended the Old Calabar. The land there 
around it appeared to be of the same elevation as that about 
the Mersey, near Liverpool. 

Robertson, who was well acquainted with the western coasts 
of Africa and the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and who had col- 
lected many facts regarding places in the interior, states, p. 312, 
that Acricock bounds the kingdom of Qua to the north ; that 



DELTA OF THE NIGER — CAMEROONS, ETC. 



139 



Acricock lies in the interior of Bannee, or Bonny, where the 
traders of Bannee and Calabar resort for oil, &c., (p. 310,) and 
at p. 314 adds, that " salt for the interior was sent from Old 
Calabar across what the natives called the middle river, which 
is in fact a creek to the eastern branch of the Bannee River, 
where it finds its way into the country to the westward." Rorob, 
a country celebrated for oil, he places N.E. from Old Calabar, 
and adds, p. 312, that the Bongo (Old Calabar) River in the 
interior, is interrupted by cataracts. 

Mr. Oldfield communicates the important facts that a short 
distance, five miles above Acricock, there is a reach called 
Beaufort reach, at which the stream is seven fathoms deep, and 
that distant mountains, seen from thence to the N.E., run from 
N. to S. in the direction of the Qua mountain ; that some miles 
further up the river, a branch comes from the westward ; the 
chief stream, according to the natives, coming from the north- 
westward, navigable and navigated for several days' journey 
further. 

As regards the great river Niger, and the branches into which 
it divides on approaching the alluvial country, Laird expressly 
tells us that the great flow of water from the parent stem is to 
the westward ; that to that quarter all the large branches run, 
while those which flow to the eastward are all of less magni- 
tude. The direction of the current, however, in these streams 
or branches, shows the source from whence they come. Oldfield, 
in going from the anchorage at the mouth of the Nun to Brass 
Town, tells us that he went eastward on the creek and branches 
" with the current in their favour, at the rate of three and a half 
miles per hour." 

Concerning the course of the river through the Kong Chain, 
Lander (vol. iii.) gives us a few particulars worthy of notice. 
Below Attah the hills on the N.W. side appeared to decrease 
in height ; those on the eastern side to change their course to 
the S.E. ; and soon afterwards, and above Damuggoo, the banks, 
especially on the south side, become low and swampy. Da- 
muggoo market is frequented by people and canoes from Bonny, 
Calabar, Brass and Benin (p. 91.) The natives of Abasacco 
consider the Bonny branch the largest. Above Damuggoo a few 
miles, Lander saw a branch running off to the S.E. The N.W. 



140 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



side of the river there was low, and covered with jungle ; the 
S.E. bank was rather higher (p. 95). Damuggoo was stated to 
be eight days from the sea, (p. 98,) and also that the anchorage 
of ships in Bonny River was only four or five days' journey (by 
water,) from Damuggoo, (p. 100.) October 31st he found the 
Niger receding rapidly ; within two days fallen two feet (p. 1 12.) 
Might reach Bonny from Damuggoo, without touching at the 
chief of a great country, one day's journey down to his terri- 
tories. This must be Eboe and King Obie, and the communi- 
cation must take place by means of the branch about to be 
mentioned. A little above Kirree, saw a river enter the Niger 
from the eastward ; shortly after, saw a branch running off to 
the westward, about the same size, and which runs to Benin 
(p. 132). The river from the eastward, is that which Laird says 
is about 400 yards wide, and which Oldfield was told led to 
Fundah, although he frankly acknowledges he does not believe 
this to be the case, but that it runs off S.E. to Old Calabar, as 
can scarcely fail to be the fact. 

With regard to the river Adoo or Edoe, which the same tra- 
veller states seems to run into the Niger, above Damuggoo, 
from the NN.E., such can hardly be the case, because the 
Niger itself descends in that direction. At this point, Allen 
lays it down, coming in at right angles, or from N.W. by W. 
Oldfield is of opinion, (formed from the information given him 
by his servant Lily, who was a native of the country through 
which the river runs, and from which it would appear that it 
takes its name) that from its point of junction with, or rather 
its separation from, the Niger, it soon turns and runs W.S.W., 
and flows to the sea towards Lagos or Whydah. He grounds 
this opinion on the information which he received regarding the 
traffic by it, which consisted of European goods, rum, &c, 
brought from the coast in ten days. On looking into Robert- 
son's Notes, he gives the country of Adoo as lying between 
Yarribah and Benin ; that is, above Benin, as Oldfield was told 
it did, and to the eastward of Dahomey ; and in fact Robertson 
in his map seems to consider Adoo and Benin as the same. 
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3d ed. (Article 
Guinea), the first Portuguese, &c, discoverers of Africa, gave 
the name of Oedo to the capital of Great Benin, situated, as 



DELTA OF THE NIGER — CAMEROON'S. ETC. 



141 



they stated, sixty miles inland. Robertson also, p. 297, states 
that the river of Oedo and Lagos have the same communication 
with the interior; and residents at Lagos stated that the latter 
river came from a great lake (river) in Haoussa. It appears, 
then, that the country of Benin and Adoo, or Oedo, or Edoo, is 
the same, and that the river Adoo, mentioned by Oldfield, 
Allen, and Beecroft, is the river of that country, and that it 
flows through it from NN.E. to W.S.W. The banks of the 
Niger at the point of separation, are known to be low and 
marshy; consequently no physical difficulty occurs, and it is 
much more probable that this stream flows in the direction 
mentioned, than that it comes in from the NN.E. The nature of 
the trade by it, and the time occupied in communicating by the 
river with the coast, settles the point, it is conceived, in a de- 
cided manner. In Dupuis' map, he has in this part of Africa a 
river passing westward near Quassie, and coming into lake 
Cradoo in the direction alluded to, and to the westward of Benin. 
His map seems to have been taken from old Portuguese nar- 
ratives and sketches, which, though rough, give after all, not 
incorrectly, the general outlines of these rivers and places. At 
page 55 he pointedly states of this delta and the rivers in it, 
" it is admitted that there are channels which intersect all the 
Warree rivers at right angles, running within the compass of 
one or two days from the sea-shore, out of the Formosa river 
into the Forcados, Dodo, Nun, St. Nicholas, Bartholomew, 
Calabar, Bonny, &c." 

Immediately adjoining the estuary of Old Calabar River, is 
the Rio del Rey. This outlet is ten miles broad ; and soon 
afterwards, as the interior is approached, it narrows, and as the 
mountains are entered, the stream is found not only to become 
much contracted, but to descend over cataracts and rapids, all 
of which indicate that its course is not of great length. Such 
were the accounts given by Nicholls, who went to explore the 
interior from this point, but who perished in the attempt, after 
having ascended this river to some distance. Betwixt this river 
and Old Cameroons to the southward, is the exceeding high 
land of Bimbia, or Cameroons, rising in a mountain almost 
close to the sea, to the height of 13,000 to 14,000 feet, and 
very often covered with snow. It is most certainly, " The 



142 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Chariot of the Gods " described by Hanno, which he states 
was opposite to Carthage. It is clearly an extinct volcano 
now, but in his days was probably in full activity, and hence he 
gave it the name, " The Chariot of the Gods." It is also the 
termination to the westward of Ptolemy's Mount Arualtes. 
Beyond are seen peaks certainly still higher, because, seen from 
the sea, the most distant appears to be of equal height with the 
one nearest the sea. To the N. and NN.W. of the Elrei 
River, is the high land of Rumby ; and beyond the river the 
mountains of Qua, in peaks which seem almost to rival the 
other. 

The appearance of the great delta of the Niger marks 
clearly to the eye of the observer the nature and means of its 
formation. Below Damuggoo the alluvial country commences. 
All the land from a point to the southward of that place, has 
unquestionably been formed since the deluge, by the mud and 
sand, &c, brought down by the great rivers from the interior. 
The very strong current which in the ocean sets from the 
south, along the coast of Africa, from the equinoctial north- 
wards, would necessarily meet; first, the estuaries of the Rio del 
Rey, Old Calabar and Cross rivers, and which rivers, pressed 
from the south, would throw back part of the mud which they 
brought down first, northward and north westward. This again 
would be met by the great volume of the water of the Niger, 
issuing from the Kong mountains, which would throw the mud 
and sand of the whole back in a circular form, yearly increasing, 
and narrowing the space forming the great inlet of the sea at 
Old Calabar, as we now see it. The vast sediment brought 
down by the Niger, the Shadda, &c, would also extend by 
degrees southward and westward, and form the whole delta of 
the Niger in a manner the most natural, and in the direction 
and situation which we now find it. Met in its progress south- 
wards from the Kong chain, the stream of the Niger would, 
by the greater force of the ocean current, which came from 
the southward as before mentioned, than that which came 
in the sea from the Gold Coast to the west, naturally throw 
the greatest flow of the waters to the westward : conse- 
quently all the greatest branches or outlets of the Niger would 
flow in that direction, as we find them, and as Mr. Laird 



DELTA OF THE NIGER — CAM EROONS, ETC. 



143 



expressly tells us is the fact. The two opposing ocean currents 
would, with the mud brought down by the vast river Niger, place 
the delta and the alluvial land in these parts, exactly as we 
find them. The yearly increase of this delta must be very 
considerable, and in the course of 4,000 years there is ample 
time given for the formation of the whole. Within the memory 
of African traders now living, a bank consisting of mud and 
sand at the mouth of the Bonny river, formerly only dry at 
low water, is now firm land, and excellent pasture for cattle. 
This shows how rapidly the land gains, and must gain on the 
sea in that quarter. Hence the appearance of this coast must 
have been very different in the days of Hanno, the celebrated 
Carthaginian navigator, who visited it, (for it was this point he 
certainly did visit, and at this point where he turned back in sight 
of the Chariot of the Gods, and nearly opposite to Carthage, as 
he pointedly states,) to that which it now bears. The appear- 
ance also of this delta must, 800 years ago, have been very diffe- 
rent to the early Arabian conquerors, to that which it now bears, 
and hence the discrepancy which appears in their accounts, and 
the accounts of modern navigators, concerning it and the rivers 
and lakes therein. That the great eastern and western arms 
or branches of the Niger should in early times have formed 
an island, and that in this island there should have been found 
a lake, as Hanno says there was, is extremely probable. That 
lake, moreover, would necessarily be gradually lessened and 
filled up, till it became like that one which Lander found 
covered during the inundation, at the separation of the great 
branches of the river. 

Immediately adjoining the high land in question, and to the 
south, is the Old Cameroons, or Jamoor river, in lat. 3° 40'. 
This river is about two miles broad, and navigable for vessels 
drawing eighteen feet water. About 3° 20' lat. we have the 
estuary of the Cameroons and Malemba rivers. The extreme 
breadth is twelve miles, and it communicates with Old Came- 
roons by means of Bimbia Creek. In an old map of Africa, I 
find the course of this river laid down to the distance, and 
on the bearings, it has been placed, and also the other three 
rivers adjoining are placed according to the same authority. 

The Jamoor, or Old Cameroons river, is clearly only a branch 



144 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



of the Cameroons. The course of the latter river, there is 
every reason to believe, is not very long, and has probably been 
extended too far into the interior, in the map accompanying 
this work. This opinion is grounded upon the information 
which has lately been received from traders who have fre- 
quented it, who generally state their opinion that it cannot 
have a very long course, because there is little or no trading 
intercourse or articles with the population on its banks up- 
wards ; a proof not only that its course does not extend very 
far, but also that it comes from a rugged and mountainous 
country. The Malemba River they describe as by far the 
largest, and in proof that it has the longest course, there is a 
very considerable trade by it with countries in the interior. 
Its course is from the S.E. or S.E. by E., while that of the 
Cameroons is from the N E., or N.E. by E. Around the 
mouths of these rivers the land is low and marshy ; in fact, a 
delta resembling the delta round the mouths of the Niger, 
though by no means equal to the latter in extent. This delta, 
or alluvial land, round the mouth of the Malemba and the 
Cameroons, has been formed in the same manner as the delta, 
of the Niger, and produced from the same acting cause 
namely, the strong current setting in from the SS.W., which 
in the lapse of ages has extended westward the alluvial deposits, 
and driven, as it were, the great outlet of these rivers against 
the base of the volcanic peaks of Bimbia, or the Cameroons, 
" The Chariot of the Gods" of Hanno, and the Arualtes of 
Ptolemy. The courses of all the rivers in this portion of Africa, 
that is, from the high land of Cameroons to the Nazareth, is in 
my opinion extended one degree too far to the eastward. 

Southward of this river the coast rises into a table land 
extremely beautiful and healthy. Passing Cape Clara in 1° 
ION. lat, we have Moohnda, or Danger River, a deep and 
powerful stream, navigable for vessels of any burden. The 
island of Corisco, or Thunder, is situated in its mouth, which 
renders the passages on each side narrow, and, from the 
strong current and tides, rather dangerous ; but when once 
in, it is a very safe anchorage. Its banks abound with the 
finest timber, fit for ship-building and other useful purposes. 
Forty miles south, along a low swampy coast, in fact, almost a 



DELTA OF THE NIGER CAMEROONS. 



14-5 



morass, the entrance to the Rio de Gaboon is found, in N. lat. 
0° 30'. Its extreme breadth is thirty miles, but a short distance 
inwards it contracts to twelve miles. Forty-five miles from the 
sea the river separates into two branches, one flowing from the 
N.E. and the other coming from the S.E. The S.E. branch 
is formed by the union of a number of small streams, at about 
sixty miles inwards from its entrance. The northern branch 
stretches N.E., in a deep stream, until, as the natives say, it 
comes from the Moohnda, which flows from the same direction. 
While this account is by no means improbable, still we are now 
so well acquainted with what native Africans mean by their 
information regarding rivers coming from the same sources, or 
from one stream, that these rivers may after all be different 
streams flowing into the same estuary. The source of the 
Moohnda is represented to be forty-eight days' journey distant 
from the mouth of the river, which, at a reasonable computa- 
tion for each day's journey, will place its sources in about 
14° 15' E. long., and about 2°N. lat. Near its sources, or 
rather around them, is situated the countries of Paamway and 
Sheybee. On their northern frontier is the kingdom of Key- 
bee, through which the river Wole flows to the eastward. 
This river is described by the people of these parts as the 
largest river that they know, and they add that it runs to an 
immense distance, — to India, and farther, in the usual African 
mode of expression ; and that the Moohnda, and all the rivers 
in that quarter of Africa, proceed from the Wole. To the 
south of the Rio de Gaboon, is a large river called by the 
natives Oggawai, which forms all the rivers which enter the 
sea in the neighbourhood of Cape Lopez. The distances from 
the Gaboon to the sources of this river, in about an E.N.E, 
direction, is thirty-nine days' journey by land and by water, and 
which, by a reasonable computation, will place the same in 
nearly the same meridian as the sources of the Gaboon. The 
natives state that the Oggawai is a broader and deeper river, 
and that it has a great number of turnings and windings in its 
upward course. Near the sources of this river on the east, is 
the negro kingdom of Okandee, described as the greatest state 
known in these parts. The capital is very clean, and the law 
forbids any native to be sold as a slave. Eastward from this 

L 



146 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

state the river Wole and its tributaries are found flowing to the 
eastward, which river Wole we shall by and by find, is one of 
the greatest northern branches of the great river Zaire, or 
Congo. The high lands which give birth to these rivers will 
be found to run south from the Mount Arualtes of Ptolemy, or 
the great ridge which stretches eastward from Cameroons, 
southwards, or a little to the eastward of south, to that rocky 
ridge through which, according to Tuckey, the Zaire forces its 
passage. From the Cameroons to the Moohnda, is a distance 
of 200 geographical miles, throughout which space the shore is 
bold and abrupt, and where there neither are nor can be any 
rivers. There is therefore abundance of room in the space 
alluded to, for the formation of all the rivers mentioned ; and 
considering every point, the information which has been gleaned 
regarding these rivers and their different courses, not only do 
not depict any thing that is geographically improbable, but 
every thing that is geographically correct. Moreover, it will 
be a remarkable feature in African geography, that in this part 
of the west coast of Africa, we have almost the exact counter- 
part of the courses of the rivers which are found in the farthest 
parts of western Africa, where we find the Rio Grande, the 
Gambia, &c, flowing westward, and the Joliba, like the Wole, 
flowing to the eastward.* 

THE LOWER NIGER, AND THE SHADDA, OR SHADERBAH.f 

Turning to the northward and the interior, it is first neces- 
sary to observe, as regards the great delta of the Niger, that 
it is extremely unhealthy. The whole, to a vast extent, is 
nearly flooded during the inundation, to a distance of from 
forty to fifty miles up the branches of the river. The tide 
runs full fifty miles up the Nun, which shows how level the 
surrounding country must be. The coasts of the sea and the 
banks of the rivers are thickly covered with mangroves ; and 
the whole space being thinly inhabited, and where inhabited, 
occupied by the most idle, the most ignorant, and the most 

* Authorities for these sections of the work : — Bowditch, Robertson, African 
Pilot, Bosnian, Laird, Lander, Oldfield, and various British, French, and Portu- 
guese navigators, also Nicholls, Colthurst, and Sir George Collier. 

t In several manuscripts by Moors it is written simply " Shad," or " Shadda." 



THE LOWER NIGER, AND THE SHADDA. 147 

profligate of all the population of Africa, the country con- 
sequently remains uncleared, uncultivated, and not drained, 
and therefore becomes one nest of pestilence and disease. 
Beyond the Rio de Formosa, however, to the north, and at a 
short distance above the separation of the branches of the 
river, the country from the former rises gently and uniformly 
all the way to the Kong range, and is dry, the soil most excel- 
lent, and the country free from the malaria generated in the 
delta. Were it not for the malaria, proceeding from the causes 
mentioned, and the sickness which it occasions, the Rio de 
Formosa, says Bosman, "is a very desirable place of trade by 
reason of the pleasantness of the rivers and adjacent country, 
which is very even ground without hills, and yet rises by 
gentle degrees, affording the most agreeable prospects in the 
world, and is yet improved by the multitude of trees which 
stand so regular as if they were designedly planted in that 
order." Further, as regards the country about the capital 
itself, he adds, " the circumjacent country is as pleasant as 
could be wished, where no interposing hill or wood rudely 
intercepts the agreeable prospect of thousands of charming 
trees, which by their wide-spreading branches, full of leaves, 
seem to invite mankind to repose under their shade." 

The journeys of Laird, Lander, Oldfield, &c. have put us in 
possession of accurate information regarding the course and 
magnitude of the Niger in its lower course, and also of the 
junction of its last and its greatest tributary — the Shadda. 
About ninety miles above Eboe the river is found for the 
space of upwards of thirty-five miles, some distance below the 
influx of the Shadda, flowing through the range, or rather 
ridge of mountains generally designated Kong, which rise like 
a wall on each hand close to the river to the height of 2000 
to 3000 feet; the chasm or opening appearing as if it had 
been burst asunder by some great convulsion of nature, in 
order to afford a passage to the river. Upwards from Eboe, 
the river is in one stream studded with islands, confined even 
during the highest flood within its banks, and from a mile and 
half to two miles broad ; the current, five or six knots per 
hour, and the depth from five to twelve fathoms. What an 
immense body of water must here flow downwards ! Clothed 

l 2 



148 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



with torrid vegetation, the granite hills seen from the bosom 
of this mighty stream, present views at once sublime and 
beautiful. At 120 miles above Eboe the Niger receives from the 
east the powerful tributary named the Shadda, or Shaderbah. 
This river was explored above its junction,* to the distance 
only of 104 miles, when want of provisions, and the inhospitable 
and dreary appearance of the country, obliged Oldfield to turn 
back. The course of the river is therefore no further certainly 
or accurately know r n, but its magnitude shows that the source 
must be at a considerable distance. Oldfield and Captain 
Allen were told the customary negro stories, that this river 
came from the Lake Shad, and that they could reach Bornou 
by w r ater in ten or twelve days. That they could reach the 
territory of Bornou in that time, and which was really all that 
their negro informants meant, is certain, because we find that at 
Dogbah, where they turned back, they were within a few days' 
journey of the Bornou territory, the messenger whom they had 
despatched to Domah, about two days' journey distant, having 
been turned back by some of the king of Bornou's troops, 
which sovereign was then at war with the king of Domah. 

Captain Oldfield plainly tells us, that at the point where 
they turned back they could obtain no information, such as 
could enable them to form any certain opinion as to the source 
and the upward course of this river ; but from all appearances 
his opinion is, that it rises amongst the hills to the S.E. He 
also tells us, that the range of hills which rose from the Niger 
at the junction of the rivers, and bent east at about eight miles 
from the Shadda on its south side, gradually sunk and dis- 
appeared into a plain about forty miles upwards from the 
junction. In order lo form, therefore, some accurate idea of 
the source and the course of this stream above Dogbah, we 
must have recourse to different data and information, scanty as 
that is. The first is the magnitude of the river itself ; and the 
second is the appearance and nature of the country in this 
portion of Africa. Whoever inspects the map will perceive 
that there is abundance of room for the formation of such 
a river as the Shadda in these parts is found to be, together 
with all the rivers which we know of in the adjoining portions 

* Junction in lat. N. 7° 55', and long. E. 6° 55'. 



THE LOWER NIGER, AND THE SH ADDA. 



14 <J 



of Southern and of Central Africa. From the N. and the 
N.E. where there is a very large space of country, and all very 
mountainous and abounding in water,* many streams un- 
doubtedly flow from the southern side to join the Shadda, as 
we find them flowing from the western face of the mountains 
to form the Coodonia, &c. 

Let us look a little more closely at this matter. Oldfield, 
vol. i. p. 445, at Dogbah says, " I was in hopes of reaching 
Beeshle and Jacoba, places of great trade, eight or ten days up 
the river," &c. The distance here given would be the space 
up the Shadda so far, and then by the Sharra to Jacoba, (the 
scale here adverted to is that which has been taken for the 
delineation of the Sharra on the accompanying map) beyond 
which, on the north, is the country of Beeshle. Lander, 
vol. ii. p. 126, heard that by means of the Sharra " canoes 
could be paddled to the Niger at any season of the year," from 
lake Shad. Lieutenant Allen, in the article which he inserted 
in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1838, 
p. 15, states thus : " I was myself informed at Dogbah on the 
Shadda, that Jacoba was seven days higher up the river, and 
that the city of Kouka in Bornou is said to be only six days for 
canoes, above Jacoba, on the same river" Lander, vol. iii. 
p. 109, says he was told by a Nouffie man at Damuggoo, that 
Jacoba and Bornou being at peace, " a person can travel from 
Jacoba to Bornou by land, in seventeen days, but that to travel 
by water up the Shadda to Kuku would be a journey of 
nineteen days." These extracts will strongly show the utter 
recklessness and carelessness with which accounts regarding 
places and countries in x\frica are sought, and given and 
received, and the almost inextricable confusion which such 
recklessness and carelessness create, and are calculated to 
create, regarding subjects and matters otherwise obvious and 
plain. The errors and contradictions above stated and quoted 
are obvious, namely, that the Sharra and the Shadda are taken 
as the same river, and that the asserted water communication 
between Jacoba and Kouka (Bornou), is like other asserted 
African water communications, which have been heard of, con- 

* See Leo Africanus — his great river bounded by Teinian on the south, which 
is clearly the Shadda. 



150 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



sidered, and explained, to be neither more nor less than the 
probable near approach of the sources or branches of the Sharra 
and the Yeou to each other. Whoever looks at the map will 
readily perceive this. The distance given by Lander for the 
land journey is not far from being correct, but if travelled along 
by the rivers alluded to, it would take two or three days more. 
Moreover, it may be here remarked, that Lander's account that 
at Dunrora he saw to the east a very high hill, at the foot of 
which, and evidently by the side thereof, stood, as he was told, 
the city of Jacoba, a mile or two from the Shar, or Sharra, is 
an account which may embrace a greater space than may be 
generally taken and supposed. The hill alluded to might be 
the high peak of a range, the eastern base of which and 
Jacoba, and consequently the Sharra, may be still farther to 
the east than has been represented, and which it is more than 
probable is actually the case. 

The magnitude of the Shadda itself will enable us, when 
that is contrasted with the magnitude of other rivers, to ascer- 
tain with considerable accuracy the probable length of its 
course. Laird tells us, that in April the Shadda, at its 
junction with the Niger, was three quarters of a mile wide, 
two fathoms deep, and the current from two to three miles per 
hour. On the 23& of June, after it had begun to rise, the 
width at the same place was a mile and a half, but broken by 
sand banks and islands into three channels. Oldfield informs 
us, that the width at the junction during the height of the 
flood, in August, was half a mile, the depth from one to three 
fathoms, and the current two to three knots per hour ; but the 
account given by Laird of the magnitude of the stream in the 
dry season, is that on which the comparison to be made is 
founded. According to De Caille, the main branch of the Niger 
at Cabra was three quarters of a mile wide, the depth twelve 
feet or more, and though the current was not quite so strong, 
about one and a half to two miles per hour, yet the addition of 
the waters of the deep, though narrow, N.E. branch of the 
Niger, would bring the body of water in both streams, at the 
points mentioned, to be nearly equal, though giving a consider- 
able preponderance to the Shadda, in the quantity of water 
discharged at the points alluded to, nearly treble in fact, taking 



THE LOWER NIGER, AND THE SHADDA. 



151 



the current of the Niger at a mile and a half, and the current 
of the Shadda at two miles and a half per hour.* To Tim- 
buctoo, the course of the Niger on its general bearings along 
its bed, cannot be more than 1,000 geographical miles. In its 
upper course, it runs through countries as near as possible the 
same as those countries we may reasonably suppose are 
through which the Shadda runs; and although the Shadda 
in its course can hardly receive more tributaries than the 
Niger is known to receive in its course above Timbuctoo, yet it 
can scarcely be supposed that it receives fewer, or, in other 
words, smaller supplies of water; for although the tributary 
streams which join the Shadda in its upper course may not 
be so long in their courses as some of those which join the 
Niger, yet it may fairly be presumed that they are equally, if 
not more numerous, and from the general nature of the 
country, even stronger, compared to their length of course, 
than some of the others. 

Considering these facts, and others still to be adduced, there 
cannot remain a doubt that the Bahr Kulla of Rennel, laid 
down by him in about 9° N. lat., and from 18° to 20° E. long., 
and the Shadda, or rather the Shaderbah, are one and the 
same river. Various authorities state that Africa, in these 
parts, is very populous, and abounds with rivers, as must 
naturally be the case when that part is, we may say, in the 
midst of those mountainous ranges which give birth to so many 
rivers, which flow in different directions and to other quarters. 
Browne states, that the rivers which flowed to the westward 
and south-westward of Darfur, in the places beyond the copper 
mines, all run, as nearly as he could learn, westward. We shall 
soon see their termination ; and the Bahr Kulla, or Shadda, 
fills up the blank with a river running from the western face 
of the Mountains of the Moon, to the north-westward. The 
distance from Cobbe to this point, according to the distance 
given by African calculation, will be 600 geographical miles. 
Westward of Darfur, the whole road lay amongst rivers. Dar 
Kulla and the country around it are, says Buckhardt, " through- 
out mountainous, and several very large rivers flowed through 
them, which were never dry " — a strong metaphorical and Arab 

* 1| square = 2.25: 2| square = 0.25, 



152 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

expression, used to denote large rivers, and countries certainly 
well watered. From the point mentioned, to the junction of the 
Shadda with the Niger, the distance on the general bearing 
is 720 miles, so that the sources of the Bahr Kulla, or Shadda, 
may still be placed further to the eastward, as they ought to be, 
and probably are ; because the Bahr Kulla, in the place men- 
tioned by Rennel, is described as a large stream, and its course 
thence will be north-westerly to the south of the Mount Thala 
of Ptolemy, the Mendify Peaks of Denham, and to the north 
of the Mount Arualtes range of Ptolemy, in 3° N. lat., this 
latter range extending from the high land of Cameroons 
already alluded to. Mr. Oidfield clearly points out the open- 
ing, when he informs us, that the ridge running parallel with 
the Shadda from its junction eastward, had completely dis- 
appeared ; and that, at the point where he turned back, " the 
river has taken an ample sweep to the southward" (vol. i. 
p. 450) ; with which course, moreover, we have a fine eluci- 
dation of Ptolemy's statement, that the Niger receives to the 
rising sun one branch " above" or to the south of the Lybian 
lake (Lake Shad), and that it also joins together Mount 
Mandrus and Mount Thala ; in other words, that all the waters 
which flow from them, though running in opposite directions, 
run to one common termination. 

Further, and in reference to the Shadda, the account 
which the native of Mandara gave to Denham will turn out to 
be correct. This man stated, that a journey of twenty days 
south from Mandara brought him to a district or country 
where the mountains were ten times higher than those in 
Mandara, and where he found and crossed before he came to 
the capital of Adamowa (Ghorin) a large river running between 
two ridges of mountains, which river, he said, was the same as 
the great river in Nyffe, and that it had no connexion with the 
Kano river (Yeou), nor with the Shary river, both of which 
entered Lake Shad. The fact stated, namely, that he met a 
large river running between two ridges of mountains, twenty 
days' journey to the south of Mandara; and that that river 
communicated with the Nyffe river, or the Niger ; clearly 
establishes the point, that the river in question could be no 
other than the Shadda. The distance, twenty days' journey 



THE LOWER NIGER, AND THE SIIADDA. 



15:3 



south from Mandara, would certainly bring the extreme point 
of his journey beyond the parallel of that country through 
which the Shadda flows to the westward. By a proper and 
corrected scale of estimating distances, the position of Mora will 
be in about 10° 30' N. lat., Musafeia, a little to the southward 
of the parallel of 10°, and the high Peak of Mendify in about 
9° 30 N. lat. This brings the Mandara range and these high 
peaks to the very parallel where Ptolemy places his Mount 
Thala, namely, in 10° N. lat. ; and when his longitudes are 
corrected from known points, also in the same meridian. The 
termination of the journey of Denham's informant, namely, at 
the capital of Adamowa, called Ghorin, would be to the south 
of, but not far from, the parallel of 8° N. His informant does 
not say how far the "great river" which he crossed lay to the 
north of the capital, but merely that he did cross such a river 
before he came to that place. The expression, " great river," 
clearly indicates a stream of that magnitude which must 
previously have had a very considerable course from the east- 
ward. This man's account is wonderfully corroborated by 
Sultan Bello. The Mandara traveller states, that part of the 
population of the capital of Adamowa were Fallatahs, and 
another part Pagans; but that the hilly or country people 
were all Kerdies or Pagans. Sultan Bello tells us exactly the 
same thing, and states that one-third of the population were 
Mahommedan Fellans, and the remainder Pagans. All the 
districts in these interior parts of Africa, though mountainous, 
are nevertheless well peopled. The rivers in them are very 
numerous; and the proof that these rivers are of considerable 
magnitude, is furnished by the fact, that the natives use large 
canoes to cross them. To the south of Mandara, Denham 
moreover states, that there are many lakes in the country, that 
fish is very abundant in these lakes, and that the numerous 
natives which inhabit these countries eagerly seek cotton goods 
and other manufactured articles. 

Dupuis, in his account of the rivers of the interior of Southern 
and Central Africa, mentions, amongst other things, that of the 
number which run to the sea at Benin, there is one called the 
Shaderbah, which, from its position, is clearly the Shadda; 
and of these rivers, he further states that one of them, he was 



154 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



informed, afforded a communication between Benin and a tribe 
of people at a great distance, called Gangori. This tribe, he 
was told, lived in tents ; that they were not black, but had red 
skins, yet were not Arabs. The best mules and horses, he 
was told, came from thence. Let us attend to the following 
account, given by Browne (p. 159). The people of Kulla, 
he says, were represented as partly negroes, and partly of a 
red or copper colour; their language was nasal. They had 
ferry-boats on the river, which were impelled partly by double 
oars like our canoes. Water was very abundant, the trees very 
large, and the pimento-tree in particular very abundant. Into 
this country, the inhabitants of Dar Bargoo, or Dar Saley, make 
war by sudden incursions into the country of Kulla, laying 
waste a large space in a short time, and carrying off the 
inhabitants into slavery. It would appear, that the population 
which Browne describes are actually the tribe named Gangori 
by Dupuis' informants, and who have a communication by 
water with Benin. Further, as regards this country of Kulla, 
Horneman was informed, that the Niger runs to the river of 
Kulla, or, as he thus describes it, " the Niger flowed from 
Haoussa south till it joined the Bahr Kulla." Park also had 
obtained similar information in his first journey ; and in his 
memorial to Lord Camden, he urges the fact, that the Bahr 
Kulla and Niger communicated with each other. Bowditch 
establishes the same fact ; for in his last published volume, he 
gives the distance from the island of Gange, or Gongoo, by 
water, down the Niger by Attagara, thence on the Shadda 
through Kowara Raba (Fundah and places to the eastward) 
to Lake Caudee, to be sixty-five days' navigation, and not 
sixty-five days' journey, as he had previously stated. 

In vol. ii. p. 6, of Laird's, &c. Travels, Oldfield remarks, 
that the Shadda, on the 18th of August, to their surprise, fell 
nearly ten inches, which fall they concluded to be the com- 
mencement of the general annual decrease, which it was not ; 
and accordingly, on the 16th of October, when they returned 
down the Niger, they remarked that the Shadda appeared to 
be then even much larger than when they were in it during the 
month of August. The phenomenon they observed, however, 
is a curious but common one in every river of Northern 



YACOBA, ADAMOWA, ETC. 



155 



Africa, either near its sources, or near any point where it 
receives numerous supplies from several tributaries which 
join it from sources not very remote. Park gives us a beautiful 
illustration of the cause of this, in his Second Journey, when 
within a short distance of Bammakoo. At p. 252 (4to edition), 
he observes: — "It is a common observation of the negroes, 
that when the Indian corn is in blossom, the rain stops for 
eleven days. The stopping of the rain evidently depends on 
the sun approaching the zenith of the place, the sun, by 
this day's observation, lat. 12° 57' (Park took 15th declination 
for 14th — corrected to 14th, lat. 13° 16' 29"), being only 
seventy-one miles north of us ; and it is a wonderful institution 
of Providence, that at this time the maize (Indian corn) here 
is in full blossom ; and on passing through the fields, one is 
like to be blinded with the pollen of the male flowers." In 
his passage to this point, Mr. Park found the mountain streams 
had subsided; and the fall in the Shadda, at this time men- 
tioned, proceeded from the same natural cause, and proves that 
it receives many supplies not far from this part of its course, 
or numerous tributaries issuing from mountainous ranges, 
which tributaries have no great length of courses, and are 
consequently soon influenced by the continuance or the dis- 
continuance of the rains. The causes here mentioned, go, 
moreover, to clear up the important facts mentioned by Laird 
(p. 233), namely, that " the waters of the Shadda were colder 
than the waters of the Niger," and that the former " rose sooner 
and more suddenly " than the latter. 

Y'ACOBA, ADAMOWA, ETC. 

The large space of country betwixt Kano and Kattagum on 
the north, and the river Shadda on the south, and betwixt 
the sources of the Coodonia on the west, to the borders of the 
Shary on the east, next requires consideration. This large 
space comprehends a number of districts and states known 
under different names, such as Kurrykurry, Yacoba, Kornorfa, 
and part of Bornou, which includes Mandara and Adamowa. 
According both to Sultan Bello and Clapperton, this country, 
or a very large portion of this country, particularly the western 
division thereof, is comprehended under the general name of 



156 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



" Boushy," so called by the Mahommedans because the 
inhabitants thereof are Pagans. Sultan Bello particularly 
states, that Yacoba forms one of the districts of Boushy ; and 
he places the capital thereof twelve days' journey south of 
Kano. Other authorities give the distance ten days' journey, 
which will no doubt depend upon the season of the year, and 
the mode by which the distance is travelled. Sultan Bello's 
authority, however, for the correct distance, is certainly the 
most to be relied on. Boushy, Boushee, and Boucheer, desig- 
nate the same place. The whole of the extent of Africa under 
consideration is exceedingly hilly. From Kattagum, the 
country to the S.W. Clapperton tells us, began to rise into 
hills, and westward the hills of Dull rose to the height of 600 
or 700 feet to the south; and from the mountain of Nora, 
near the source of the Sockwa, a lofty ridge of blue mountains 
extended thence from north to south, which the inhabitants 
informed Lander ran in that direction to the salt water, and 
which he, in his journey to the south, saw for several days 
bounding the horizon to his left. Both Sultan Bello and 
Clapperton pointedly inform us, that the whole of the country 
under our consideration is extremely hilly. Clapperton states, 
that the hills in some places consist of lime-stone, and that 
they are said to yield antimony and silver. Sultan Bello 
states, that there is a gold mine among them, or, in other 
words, that the country produces gold. Abou Beker, a native 
of Kouka, and who was long on board the British ship of 
war, the Little Belt, states, that at the distance of fifteen days' 
journey to the southward of Kashna, the mountains were so 
high that some of them were capped with perpetual snow, and 
that they resembled in appearance the boldest peaks of the 
Cape Verde Islands, {Quarterly Review, May, 1820.) In the 
country of Yacoba is included the districts inhabited by people 
known all over Africa by the name of Yem Yems, or Yum 
Yums, whom all accounts represent to be cannibals. Lander, 
according to the account he received from the king of Yacoba, 
the sovereign of these people, places them to the eastward of 
the capital, for he states, that in the contest which the king of 
Yacoba had with Bornou, these people assisted him, and were 
in fact the first in the contest. This sovereign affirmed to 



YACOBA, AD AMoW A, ETC. 



157 



Lander, from his own knowledge, that these people were can- 
nibals. Both Lander and Clapperton were told this at other 
places, and from other authorities. Browne was told the same 
thing in Darfur. Buckhardt was told this at Shendy. Dupuis 
was told this at Coomassie. Lyon was told this in Mourzook ; 
and he states that the country of Zegzeg was four or five days' 
journey S.W. of Kano ; and that six days' journey south of it 
lay Yagooba, the country inhabited by cannibals. Lie further 
questioned a boy from that country as to the fact, who not 
only admitted the truth of the statement, but minutely described 
the parts of the human body which were considered to be the 
most delicious to eat. Every Moor and Arab traveller repeats 
the same account regarding these people. They are certainly 
pagans, and seem at all times to have maintained their inde- 
pendence against all the efforts of the neighbouring states, 
Bornou, Sultan Bello, &c. ; and from this courageous spirit, 
they may, in the customary African metaphorical mode of 
expression, be designated cannibals ; in other words, the 
destroyers or the devourers of their enemies. Still, the testi- 
mony against them in their w T orst character, it must be ad- 
mitted, is universal,' and stands as yet uncontradicted. 

Amongst the countries in this great district of Africa, and 
in the S.W. portion thereof, is the great country of Kororofa, 
as found in old African maps ; and by De Lisle and by Beau- 
foy is stated to be situated to the westward of Bagherme. 
Sultan Bello gives the proper name of this country ; namely, 
Kornorfa, which, he says, embraces about twenty divisions. 
In his fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh divisions, and in the 
province Boucheer, or Boushee, he places Yhass, Codoor, 
Kotoo, Aadam, no doubt the Domah of Oldfield, as these 
places lie in rotation to the S.E. of Rar-wee, or the Rary of 
Lander. In his eighth division, he places another, Kotoo, 
which contains a copper-mine and one of alum. Laird, be it 
observed, states that up the Shadda, there was a copper- 
mine. The positions of these countries are sufficiently ascer- 
tained, for Sultan Bello gives us the position of Attaghar, or 
Attagara, the Iddah of Laird, a great province, which, the former 
states, reaches to the sea where the ships of Christians come to 
trade ; east of this, or, as he says, to the right, lies the province of 
Nafra (or as it is belter known to Europeans by the name of 



158 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA, 



Biafra,) and upon a river larger than what the Kowara was in 
its middle course. Northward of this province lie the districts 
mentioned, and north-east Kornorfa, which he states contains a 
goldmine, and also one of antimony. When he states that Kor- 
norfa contains no fewer than twenty divisions or districts, he 
clearly indicates the great magnitude of the country which 
stretches eastward to the borders of Adamowa. The whole of 
these districts are in what is called the country of Boushy, and 
consequently to the north of the Shadda. This district of 
Africa also seems to be that mentioned by Leo under the name 
of Temian, abounding with " wild woody mountains, contain- 
ing many springs of water," and inhabited by a wild, savage 
people, who are represented as cannibals. This country was 
also stated to be bounded by the Niger on the south, for every 
river that was found in Africa, Leo, like others, seems to 
have considered as the same. Bowditch also mentions both 
this country and the Shadda, the latter under the name of 
the Quolla-raba, the supposed continuation of the Niger 
eastward to the lake Caudee or Shad. His informants 
stated that the kingdom adjoining it, called also Quolla-raba, 
or Koara-raba, was a very great kingdom, that it lay next to 
Atagher, or Attagara, and comprehended the whole of the 
countries of Canno, Dull, and the Yem-Yems. It is exactly 
in the position where we now find the celebrated state of 
Fundah. Sultan Bello, in his map, gives it the position men- 
tioned, but calls the country Quorra-raba, which means the 
same thing as the name given by Bowditch, and, as regards 
the river, means only a tributary to the Niger.* Sultan Bello 
further informs us regarding the great district of Kornorfa, 
that it was " ruled by one king, who often sallied forth upon 
Kanoo and Barnoo, and caused much desolation," thus dis- 
tinctly intimating both its power and its position. Bowditch 
states that this country, through which the river flowed, was 
thirty days' navigation" from Attagara, or the territory of 
Attagara, Atta, or Iddah. The dominions of Atta, it is here 
necessary to observe, commence to the westward of Yimmahah. 
That six days' navigation beyond the boundary of this country 
(Quorra-raba), the river passed Mafeegoodoo, from whence to 

* Thus the Arab travellers designated to Dupuis the Quarrama, which passes 
Saccatoo as the Koara raba, or a tributary branch to the Kowara. 



JACOBA, ADAMOWA, ETC. 



159 



Take Cadee, or Caudce, or Shad, was thirteen days' journey ; 
and he further adds, p. 203, the very important and curious 
fact, that " a very high mountain was spoken of at an equal 
distance between the Lake Caudee (Shad) and the Quolla," or 
the rvier which we now know to be the Shadda. 

In the high mountain just alluded to we distinctly and 
clearly recognise the Mandara chain which intervenes between 
the river Shadda and the great lake Shad in Bornou. The 
Mandara mountains, as Denham informs us, run, one chain 
E.S.E. towards the sources of the Bahr-el-Abiad ; one S.W. 
towards the high peaks at Cameroons ; and one westward to the 
country of Yacoba. The mountainous range which gives birth 
to the Yeou, &c, flowing eastward and northerly, and to the 
Makkamee, Accra, and Coodonia, flowing westward, proceeds, 
as Lander has shown us, some distance to the south, and 
thence bending their range south-east, reach the mountains of 
Mandara. Approaching the sources of the Coodonia, they 
recede easterly, in order to leave, as it would appear, a valley 
from Fundah, to a certain distance eastward and along the 
Shadda. Whoever looks at the map will perceive, that from 
Kano and Fundah, to Mandara, a very large space intervenes, 
and which large space is, as has been shown, a very mountainous 
country ; it is, therefore, plain that many streams must rise in the 
hills and flow to the south, to the south-west, and to the west, 
as the direction given by the ranges allow ; while on the north- 
east from the source of the river, which is called " the Little 
River," which enters the Yeou near Old Birnie, to the 
sources of the streams a little to the southward of Mora, no 
river of any importance flows from the ranges in question 
through the territories of Bornou, either to the north-east or 
to the east. The province of Bobyra, belonging to Bornou, 
which lies in the direction of the ranges alluded to, abounds, 
we are told, with water, which could not be the case if it was 
destitute of rivers; and amongst other productions which Leo 
mentions as abundant in this district, designated Temian, 
in which Bobyra is certainly situated, he particularly enume- 
rates the wild citron and the lemon, torrid clime fruits, which 
are only to be found in countries where water is abundant. 

The next district of importance in this portion is the great 
district of Adamowa, situated to the eastward of Kororofa ; or 



160 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Kornorfa. The true position of this place becomes of con- 
siderable importance in fixing several points connected with 
the geography of the interior of Africa. Fortunately it can be 
fixed with, it may be said, perfect accuracy. Sultan Bello 
states that it is twenty days' journey south of Bornou, and 
further, that it is immediately to the south of Maudara. 
Clapperton, in his first voyage, (see p. 261,) tells us that, at 
his interview with Sultan Bello, after having reached Saccatoo, 
that chief pointedly reproached him, and also the Dey of 
Tripoli, as being his enemies, because, while approaching him 
with the voice of friendship, Clapperton's friend, Major 
Denham, and Bhoo kalloom, a military officer from Tripoli, 
had, in a wanton and unprovoked manner, attacked his (Bello's) 
territories and subjects in Adamowa. There, it will be recol- 
lected, it was that Major Denham lost nearly all his baggage 
in his flight after the defeat of Bhoo kalloom and his party. 
This baggage was carried to Saccatoo as one of the trophies 
and the prizes of victory ; and at Saccatoo what remained of 
this baggage was restored to Clapperton, in order to carry it 
back to his fellow-traveller, Denham, at Kouka. There can 
be no mistake about this, therefore, nor the position of Ada- 
mowa. Clapperton also, in his second voyage, during his 
passage from Boussa to Kano, fell in with one of Bello's 
officers, who spoke of the engagement at Adamowa as a victory 
obtained over the Christians, making Denham the chief of the 
party. Further, a route is given from Kano eastward by the 
Bahr-el-Abiad to Senaar, as travelled by pilgrims, in which 
the first country of importance mentioned beyond Kano in that 
route is, first Adamowa, next Bagherme, &c. The position, 
therefore, of Adamowa may thus be considered as being clearly 
and satisfactorily established. Buckhardt tells us that Mandara, 
an eastern province of Bornou, is inhabited by an Arab tribe, 
called Dar Mandara, and that the country is subject to the 
sovereign of Bornou, and near the Shary. 

THE RIVERS AND COUNTRIES EASTWARD FROM BOUSSA 
TO BORNOU. 

The very interesting and important portion of Africa which 
we have here approached, naturally draws the attention to 
the countries and places from Comie and Boussa, east of the 



RIVERS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 



161 



Niger ; more especially as to the east of these places, there is 
found elevated lands, which separate the waters that bend their 
course westward to the Niger, and eastward so far to the great 
inland lake of Bornou called the Shad, or more properly 
Zad. This is more particularly necessary, because doubts 
have been stated regarding the information so lately received, 
and the accounts generally credited, and theories in conse- 
quence advanced, which go to plunge (could they be successful) 
the geography of Africa, just emerging from darkness, into 
confusion and obscurity. To clear up the point fully and 
satisfactorily it is necessary to begin with the Niger at Comie, 
and consider the country between that place and Kano, Saccatoo, 
and Kashna on the west, and - Bornou, Jacoba, and Adarn- 
owa, &c, on the S. and S.W. 

The theory above alluded to is that advanced by I^ieut. Allen, 
and published in the journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 
vol. viii. 1838; namely, that the Yeou, instead of running 
into Lake Shad, runs out of it, and proceeds westward beyond 
Kano, by " the Little River" or the Yeou, (for which string to 
the bow is taken by the writer does not clearly appear,) and 
that from its western bed beyond Kano, it proceeds first S., 
and then from Cuttup, S.E., by Jacoba to the Shadda ; that it 
is, in fact, the Shadda; that all the rivers which Denham 
crossed from Kouka to Farinoce, running eastward, all those 
Lander crossed, running, as he says, westward, were still the 
same stream which issued from Lake Shad ; and finally, that 
Lander, Clapperton, and Denham, were altogether mistaken in 
what they saw, in w r hat they visited repeatedly, and in all the 
information which they had received. This is in substance 
the contents of the bold doctrine advanced, and, in a manner 
unsatisfactory to any African geographer, maintained. The 
respectability and geographical authority of the high channel 
through which the speculation has been conveyed to the public, 
alone entitles it to notice or consideration.* 

* Lieut. Allen speaks of this great discovery as his " Closet" work. There 
is, however, nothing new in it. Misled by the account which Buckhardt gave of 
the course of the Shary, namely, from N.E. to S.W., I was led into the same 
error twenty years ago, and accordingly brought the river from Lake Shad to 
the Niger, through the same districts of Africa. — See Map and Geography cf 
Northern Central Africa. Blackwood, Eding. 1821. 

M 



162 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



First, on the southward or westward, we begin with the 
route from the Niger at Comie to Kano. Clapperton crossed 
the river at Comie, and thence proceeded eastward. The first 
place they reached was Tabra, situated, as he expressly states, 
on the north bank of the stream called Mayyarrow ; there, says 
Lander, " serpentine and of irregular breadth ; in some places 
so narrow, that a person may easily jump across, and at others 
widening from twenty to thirty yards; its depth generally 
fluctuating between eight and twelve feet." (Vol. i. p. 177.) 
From Tabra they proceeded to Koolfu, a considerable town, 
and at a short distance to the eastward. Previous to reaching 
Koolfu they " crossed a stream coming from the north" (Clap- 
perton, p. 129). Lander, p. 181, calls it " a broad but shallow 
stream." This was at the close of the dry season. Koolfu 
contains about 15,000 or 16,000 resident inhabitants, and is a 
place of considerable trade and importance, being in the great 
road between the central countries of Haoussa, and also 
Ghunjah, Ashantee, &c.,and Bornou. Eastward of Koolfu, at 
the town of Waza, or Wazawa, the province of Kontankora 
commences. The next place of importance is the considerable 
town of Womba, in the province of Kontankora, the capital of 
which has the same name, and is situated thirty miles to the 
north of Womba. All the caravans from the west and from 
the east halt at this town. It is in 10° 35' N. lat., and 7° 04/ 
E. long. A small stream of water runs past the western gate, 
from which the city is supplied. The population is about 
12,000. The country around is well cultivated, and both to 
the east and to the west very fertile, populous, and beautiful, 
but towards the east it is hilly and woody. From Womba they 
proceeded to Guari, passing in their route the town of Curijie 
and Guber in Dushie. Close to the east of the former runs 
<c a small stream, which was then full and deep." (July 2d.) 
Guari is situated in 10° 54<' N. lat. and 8° 25' E. long. The 
country around is hilly. The town is built partly on a hill 
and partly in a valley, through which a muddy stream runs, 
and which is dry in the summer, but during the rains it is so 
large, that Lander, on his return, was detained a whole day 
before he could ford it. It rises to the north of Guari, runs 
through part of Zamfra, dividing in one part the states of 



RIVERS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 10,3 

Kontankora and Guari, and flowing south, enters the Kudonia 
in Nyffe. (Clapperton, p. 155.) The next place of impor- 
tance that he came to was Zaria, situated in 10° 59' N. lat., 
and 9° 31' E. long. Though the adjacent parts are all hilly, 
yet, says Clapperton, " the country at present on this side of 
Zaria looks like some of the finest in England about the latter 
end of the month of August ; all around is green and beautiful, 
with only trees here and there." Dunchow, to the east, is the 
first town in the province of Kano, after which they reached 
Baebaejie, a town about twenty-two or twenty-three miles SS.W. 
of Kano. The country everywhere around Baebaejie looked 
beautiful, the grain just being high enough to wave with the 
wind. The hills of Nora bore east ten miles distant, those of 
Surem south twenty-five miles distant, and the top of one of 
the high hills of Aushin was seen in the west. North of 
Baebaejie, about six miles, is the river Gora, running east to 
the Girkwa, and next, about eight miles further, and nearer 
Kano, is the river which Lander calls the Kogie, a considerable 
stream which rises in the hills of Aushin to the west, and flows 
east till it joins the Sockwa, one of the tributaries of theYeou. 

It has been considered proper to be thus particular about 
these streams, both as showing the physical features of the 
country, and as tending to elucidate the geography of this 
portion of Africa, and also as tending to clear up a portion 
about to be alluded to. About half way between Guari and 
Womba, Lander, on his return, which was in the rainy season, 
passed a large river, and about ten miles to the west of 
Womba he crossed to the south side of another large river, 
which I consider to be the same, and to be the chief stream 
of the Mayyarrow, It must now be observed, that both he 
and Clapperton state, that they passed in the dry weather 
to the west of Koolfu, "a broad but a shallow stream," 
which came from the north ; this I take to be a river which 
comes from Kontankora, the capital of the province of that 
name, situated to the north of Womba, and I do so, because 
Lander on his return says, that he crossed, and with considerable 
difficulty, " the large river Quontankora " about fourteen miles 
from the Niger, to the east of a hill or ridge which lies between 
it and the Niger. This can be no other than a river from the 

M 2 



164 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



quarter mentioned, and the united stream of it and the May- 
yarrow. Where this river joins the Niger we have no certain 
account, but it is remarkable, that in his rude map, delineating 
this portion of Africa so near himself, Sultan Bello lays down 
a very considerable river flowing for a considerable space at a 
short distance on the east side of the Niger, in its course 
below Boussa, before it joins the latter river. This may 
fairly be taken as the river just noticed, and which joins the 
Niger, above the junction of the Coodonia with that mighty 
stream. This position agrees too with the rude delineation 
which Sultan Bello has given of these rivers. 

The next and most interesting point to consider, is Lander's 
journey from Kano to Dunrora. At a short distance to the 
west of Baebaejie, he left the Nyffe, and took the Fundah road. 
This journey, be it remembered, was performed during the 
rains, and immediately after they had commenced. His course 
on the first day was a little to the eastward of south. After- 
wards, until he passed Damoy, his course was south a little 
westerly ; and to the eastward, bounding the horizon on that 
quarter, were observed, day after day, for four days in succes- 
sion, very high mountains, stretching south from the hills of 
Nora and Dull, which former mountains extend, as the inha- 
bitants asserted, to the salt water. After leaving Damoy, his 
course was generally S.W., and the last day SS.W. On the 
3d of June, between Cookie and Carifo, he crossed one large 
and then two small streams, all running to the westward, and 
during the next two days he passed several other small streams 
flowing in the same direction. The large river here mentioned 
is readily recognised as that which he crossed close to Egge- 
bee, on his return northward to Zaria. About twelve miles 
beyond Damoy, he crossed a large river called Accra, its course 
then N.W. This river is also readily recognised as that which 
Lander crossed on his return north near Mammaleek, and 
called the Makkamie. North of Fullandushie he crossed 
another large river, also running westward, and which, as we 
shall presently see from undeniable data, joins the Coodonia 
below Cuttup. The next he came to, was the Coodonia, or 
Kadania, and from the manner in which he speaks of it, it is 
clear that it was the largest of any that he had passed in his 



RIVERS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 



165 



present journey. He calls it " the large river Coodonia," 
which term gives us a scale to estimate what he means by the 
word " large," as applied to others. On the 11th of June, it 
was too deep to cross, but next day they forded it, " the water 
reaching to our chins" the stream running N.W. The in- 
formation here conveyed, shows that all these rivers, though 
much swollen, were still fordable, and this, with the fact, that 
in a few hours, from being unfordable, they decreased so as to 
become fordable, shows that their sources cannot be very far 
distant. Proceeding onwards S.W. by Cuttup, he, between 
Coogie and Dungoora, passed a large river called the "Rary," 
running to the S.E. In his short journal, published along with 
Clapperton's, he calls this " a large river," (p. 296,) but in his 
narrative published separately, he, p. 124, calls it merely "a 
stream or river called Rary," without stating how it flowed. 
The expression here used, " stream or river," and the easy 
way he got across it, though it was then much swollen, shows 
that it was here only a mountain stream, and much inferior 
to the Coodonia, the magnitude of which near Cuttup we 
have been able to ascertain with some accuracy. 

It is probable that this river passes near Jacoba, or rather 
the capital of the country known under the name of Yacoba, 
which Clapperton was informed at Kattagum was so named 
after the sovereign. This city stood, as Lander was informed, 
at the foot of a large hill, which hill was half a day's journey 
to the east of Dunrora, where Lander was compelled to turn 
back. Half a mile from the town, (Jacoba) as his guide Ma- 
hommet informed him, there flowed " a river called Shar, or 
Sharra, deriving its source from Lake Shad, and that canoes 
can be paddled from the said lake to the Niger at any season 
of the year. The Sharra enters the latter river, or Niger, at 
Fundah," after which the Niger flows south to the salt water. 

It is not difficult to perceive, amidst the errors of this African 
narrative, what Mahommet means by the Lake Shad, &c, 
which is neither more nor less, than that the small river which 
runs by Jacoba, flows into the Shadda in the kingdom of 
Fundah, by which means canoes may indeed be paddled thence 
to the Niger, but certainly not to or from the Lake Shad in 
Bornou. In eight or nine days indeed, they might paddle a 



166 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



canoe to the river Shad, and also to Bornou, that is, the 
territories of Bornou; for we learn from Oldfield's Journal, 
that at the point where they turned back, Dogbah on the river 
Shad, they were within two days' journey of the dominions of 
Bornou. But to paddle a canoe from the capital of Jacoba, to 
the Lake Shad in Bornou, a distance by the supposed water 
course of 480 miles, would be quite a different thing, and 
could not be accomplished, even if a water communication 
existed, as there certainly does not, in fewer than thirty days. 

From the Rary, Lander proceeded S.W. to the paltry town 
of Dungoora, and afterwards SS.W. to Dunrora. Between 
Dungoora and Dunrora, he passed a hilly country, and amongst 
frightful precipices, the road by the edge of which was hardly 
wide enough for the foot of man or beast to pass. He men- 
tions one 700 or 800 feet high, over which one of his asses 
tumbled, and was extricated with great difficulty. This shows 
the high mountainous country hereabouts, which moreover two 
other important facts go to confirm more fully. Before he 
came to the Rary, the rain fell in torrents, and the water, roar- 
ing down the sides of the mountains, rolled in one mighty 
stream into the valleys, and carried every thing before it in its 
progress. " This continued for hours," (vol. ii. p. 124.) Yet 
after all this, how little was the Rary ! Moreover, we learn 
from Sultan Bello's Memoirs, that there is in this part of 
Bousheer, or Boushee, a district called iC Raree," which pro- 
bably gives the name to this mountain stream. Next at Dun- 
rora he stood upon an eminence so high, that he clearly 
discerned every part of the lower country southward, to the 
distance of eight days' journey. These facts establish the 
mountainous nature of this district, and prove that the streams 
were mere mountain torrents, swollen at that time considerably 
by the violent rains. 

From Dunrora Lander was turned back, and set off to 
Zaria, with the king of Zegzeg's messengers. They returned 
to Cuttup first, and thence taking a different road from that 
which Lander had travelled, they proceeded about fifty miles 
westward, where they again came to the Coodonia, which, says 
Lander, was " larger, deeper, and more rapid than it was at 
Cuttup," insomuch that it was dangerous to cross it (vol. ii. 



RIVERS RROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 



167 



p. 132). He accordingly refused to try, and remained in the 
neighbourhood two weeks. Again he set out, and again came 
" to the banks of the Coodonia, but found the river still too 
deep to ford," and over which the party was at last ferried on 
temporary rude bamboo rafts.* The obvious reason why the 
stream here was deeper and broader than it was near Cuttup, 
is, because it must have received on its north side the large 
river, which Lander mentioned he crossed to the north of 
Fullandushie, because on his return northward he crossed only 
two considerable rivers, the Makkamie, or Accra, at Makkamee, 
the town of the former name, and another at Eggebee, to the 
south of Zaria, both at these points running southward, which 
would bring them to fall into the Coodonia below the point 
where he crossed it. In his progress south from Baebaejie to 
the Coodonia, Lander crossed three considerable streams, but 
in his progress from the Coodonia north to Zaria, he crossed 
only two, and at the places last mentioned. 

It is very clear that all the streams just alluded to, the Rary 
perhaps excepted, come from the eastward, and from the bosom 
of that high range of hills stretching south from Nora and 
Dull. They join, and must from the nature of the country 
join, the Kudania, which Lander says he was expressly told 
entered the Niger, and he states, in his second journey, when 
running down the latter stream, that he passed the mouth of 
the Coodonia at some distance, about three hours and a half, 
say fifteen miles, above Egga. Clapperton, p. 116, tells us, that 
below Comie the Niger runs more to the eastward, until joined 
by the river Kadania flowing from the eastward, after which, 
&c. Lander further says, that the Coodonia forms the northern 
boundary of the province of Bouchee ; so also says Sultan 
Bello, and farther that it comes from the east, and enters the 
Niger, or Kowara, in NyfFe. In his map of this portion of 

* His words demand attention. In his Journal, published with Clapperton's, he 
says he found the Coodonia at this point " much too deep to walk through," and 
in his Journal published separately, (vol. ii. p. 134,) he says, " found the river 
still too deep to ford;" thus clearly intimating that its magnitude was such, that at 
any other period of the year, and even at intervals during the rainy season, it 
could be forded, and could be " walked through," as be it here observed, he had, 
even at this time of the year, walked through all the other rivers which he had 
found in this part of his journey. 



168 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Africa, he has delineated the course of this river with consider- 
able accuracy, and, what is more remarkable, he lays down 
exactly the number of considerable branches or tributaries, 
namely, three, coming also from the eastward, south of Kano, 
and north of the river, all joining it ; while these branches 
again, at least the most northern of them, are joined by some 
small streams represented as flowing south, from the countries 
to the south of Saccatoo ; and although we are not to look in 
Sultan Bello for the geographical accuracy of an Arrowsmith, 
yet it may be readily allowed and supposed, that he had some 
geographical and general knowledge of his own dominions. 

The observations made about the view from the eminence at 
Dunrora, shows beyond dispute the greatly elevated nature of 
the country around it. The hills here form, no doubt, a portion 
of that range through which the Niger bursts, near Egga, and 
above Cuttum Currafee. But elevated as the country about 
Dunrora is, we have unquestionable data to show that it is still 
more elevated towards the north. After quitting the banks of 
the Coodonia, Lander found that both the palm and the plan- 
tain trees disappeared, and were not again seen till he came to 
Yarribah. These trees, it is well known, will not grow at a 
great elevation above the sea in the Torrid Zone. Lander de- 
scribes the country through which he travelled, in all these 
parts, to be exceedingly populous, well cultivated, fertile, and 
in many places exceedingly beautiful. Around Eggebee, which 
contains about 7,000 inhabitants, it is particularly so — abundant 
cultivation, lofty trees, the whole appearance of it bringing to 
Lander's mind the description given of the Garden of Eden. 

The inhabitants are principally pagans, and though living in 
a state of comparative happiness, they seem to be thickly en- 
veloped in African superstition, and all its attendant evil conse- 
quences. Slavery and the slave-trade are universal, and nothing 
regarded ; and in conformity to the general African law, parents 
have it in their power to sell their own children. The follo wing 
extract from Lander's Travels will show us how deeply rooted 
the evil is, and to what an extent in want of feeling this evil 
gives rise amongst them : — 

" The Bowchee people appear to have no affection for their off- 
spring — the gentle appeals of nature are unknown to them — parental 



RIVERS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 



tenderness dwells not in their bosoms ; and they sell their children 
as slaves to the greatest strangers in the world, with no greater re- 
morse of conscience than if they had been common articles of mer- 
chandise."— Lander, vol. ii. p. 114. 

" A travelling slave-dealer passing through the place, had purchased 
several of their children, of both sexes, from the inhabitants; and 
amongst others, a middle-aged woman had an only daughter, whom 
she parted with for a necklace of beads. The unhappy girl, who 
might have been about thirteen 'or fourteen years of age, on being 
dragged away from the threshold of her parents' hut, clung distract- 
edly, like a shipwrecked mariner to a floating mast, round the knees 
of her unfeeling mother, and looking up wistfully in her countenance, 
burst into a flood of tears, exclaiming with vehemence and passion : 
1 O mother ! do not sell me ; what will become of me ? what will 
become of yourself in your old age, if you suffer me to desert you ? 
Who will fetch your corn and milk ? Who will pity you when you 
die 1 Have I been unkind to you ? O mother ! do not sell your 
only daughter. I will take you in my arms when you are feeble, and 
carry you under the shade of trees. As a hen watches over her 
chicken, so will I watch over you, my dear mother. I will repay 
the kindness you showed me in my infant years. When you are 
weary, I will fan you to sleep ; and whilst you are sleeping, I will 
drive away flies from you. I will attend on you when you are in 
pain ; and when you die, I will shed rivers of sorrow over your grave. 
O mother ! my dear mother ! do not push me away from you ; do 
not sell your only daughter to be the slave of a stranger ! ' Useless 
tears ! vain remonstrance ! The unnatural, relentless parent, shaking 
the beads in the face of her only child, thrust her from her embraces ; 
and the slave-dealer drove the agonized girl from the place of her 
nativity, which she was to behold no more." — Pp. 114 — 116. 

With regard to the positions of these places and rivers, as they 
have been placed in the map, they have been so placed after the 
strictest research, and the greatest consideration. The number 
of days and hours that Lander occupied in travelling from Kano 
to Dunrora, have been collected, and after allowing nearly two 
geographical miles to each hour, the distance was protracted 
according to the bearings given. The result is as stated, and 
which corresponds very exactly indeed with the position of other 
places calculated from the same and other authorities. Lander 
was seventeen days travelling over the space mentioned. No 



170 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



one at all acquainted with African travelling in any country 
south of the Desert, but especially during the rainy season, will 
allow more than ten geographical miles made good each day on 
the general bearing. This will give 170 miles, which, with the 
circuitous nature of the general route, would considerably lessen 
the latitude, and bring Dunrora to be not more than 2° 45' S. 
of Kano, or in N. lat. 9° 15', and E. long. 9° 44', or 116 miles, 
at least twelve days' journey from Fundah, even according to 
the position in which different observations place the junction of 
the Shadda with the Niger, and from it, of the town men- 
tioned. Besides, we have another check to the accuracy of 
these calculations, namely, the authority of Sultan Bello, who, 
in his Geographical Memoir, pointedly states that Yacobah, 
that is, the capital of the country, is twelve days' journey south 
of Kano. This corresponds well with the positions of the places 
given from Lander's narrative, and forms a check upon them. 
Even taking these at dry season and open country journeys, but 
which they certainly are not, they could not extend beyond 
180 geographical miles. There are also authorities which make 
the distance between Kano and Jacoba only ten days, but Sultan 
Bello is the safest authority to take for our guide. The roads 
during the latter part of Lander's journey were dreadfully bad — 
we have seen what they were from Coogie to Dunrora; and 
from Cuttup to Coogie, they were so bad that he and his guide 
travelled often in water up to their waists, and were sometimes 
obliged to carry the baggage over precipices. It is here neces- 
sary to remark that Lander states Fundah lay due west from 
Dunrora, and he supposed twelve days' journey distant. At the 
same rate he travelled from Kano to Dunrora, that would be 
the distance, and if he spoke, as it is presumed he did, of the 
bearing by compass, he is very nearly correct. 

In attending to the above narratives, it is clear that the 
highest land is to the westward of Kano, extending from the 
mountains of Aushin, north of Zaria and west of Baebaejie along 
towards Duncammee, in this space dividing the waters which 
flow to the Yeou on the east, from those which flow west to the 
Niger ; while at the point mentioned this elevated land meets and 
joins the very high ridge which extends from the Niger between 
Boussa, or rather Engaskie (a continuation of the Fagh range 



RIVERS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 171 
• 

to the S.W. of the Niger), and Yaoori N.E. to Kashna, and 
which separates the waters which flow north-westward into the 
Quarrama, and south-westward into the Coodonia, the river of 
Kontankora and that called Mayyarrow. All accounts agree in 
stating that the land in these parts is greatly elevated. The 
fruits and produce show this in a very convincing manner, and 
we have the authority of Leo to state that fires are used by the 
inhabitants both night and day. Clapperton also tells us that 
at Kano, in the middle of February, he felt the weather very cold ; 
in fact it was so much so, that a fire all day was necessary, and 
that the practice of the natives was to have fires all the year round. 

From Kano, Clapperton pursued his way to Saccatoo. As 
he travelled over this space both in the dry season and in the 
rainy season, we have the features of the country, and streams 
which intersect it, placed before us under opposite circumstances. 
From Kano to a short distance beyond Farixioce, the bed of 
several rivers and streams were passed, all shaping their course 
to the eastward, but at the time of his first journey they were 
dry. In the wet season, a few miles from Kano, he passed a 
stream one quarter of a mile wide, and so deep that the horses in 
crossing were at times swimming. It ran eastvmrd. From 
Kano to Gadania the country is woody, and the trees higher 
than those which are found in Bornou. Beyond Gongode and 
Gadania, he passed in the wet season one small river and several 
streams, the courses of all which were to the eastward. A little 
to the east of Duncammee passed the bed of the river, which 
divides Kano from Kashna, and which rises amongst the granite 
hills to the southward of the latter place. The channel is twenty 
feet broad. From Duncammee the stream pursues its course 
about W.N.W. After passing Zirmee, the capital of Zamfra, 
it breaks through a ridge a few miles to the east of Quarrie, 
near which it is joined first by a small river from the south, and 
a little below it a small stream which comes from the south- 
west, and on the north-west bank of which that town is situated. 
Below it, the junction of the two streams mentioned, with the 
Duncammee river, thence downwards, called the Quarrama, takes 
place ; and soon after, it receives the river Fulche, which passes 
midway between Quarrie and Burderawa, and comes from the 
southward and flows into the Quarrama, half a days' journey to 



172 



GEOGRAPHICAL SUKVEY OF AFRICA. 



the northward. The channel of the river, during the dry season, 
was from thirty to forty yards broad. During the rainy season, 
it was found 100 yards broad, full of water, the current two and 
a half to three miles per hour. The banks were low, and 
country adjoining woody. From Duncammee to Kutah the 
country is well wooded. Around Bershee and Kagaria it is 
delightful and well cultivated. The land rises gently into hill 
and dale, with numerous verdant valleys, and beautiful and clear 
springs of water are found running amongst the granite ridges. 
From Kagaria to Bobagim, the country is eminently fertile and 
beautiful, like an ornamental park in England shaded with luxu- 
riant trees. Betwixt Bobagim and Quarrie, the country continues 
to be highly cultivated, and the roads thronged with passengers 
and bullocks loaded for the market of Zirmie, the environs of 
which are populous, and also well cultivated. The view from 
the opening in the ridge above-mentioned, westward along the 
bed of the Quarrama, is represented as exceedingly fine. The 
banks of the river were planted with onions, melons, citrons, 
indigo, cotton, and some wheat, and watered during the dry 
weather by means of a bucket and lever out of holes dug about 
two feet deep in the bed of the river, in which water is always 
found in abundance. On the east bank of the Quarrama is 
situate the large and populous town of Kutri, which has nu- 
merous dye pots in its outskirts. Zirmie is situated in 13° 7' 
14" N. lat., and 8° 40' E. long. Quarri contains from 5000 
to 6000 inhabitants. 

From Burderawa to lake Gondamie and Kaimoon, the 
country is woody, and during the wet season, swampy and 
uncultivated. It forms what is called the dreaded Guber bush, 
a wild country, on the confines of Saccatoo, east, and between 
Goober and Zamfra. It occupies more than two good days' 
journey to cross, during which time travellers hurry forward at 
the utmost possible speed, night and day, in order to escape 
the attacks of the numerous and merciless banditti which 
constantly frequent this sad spot, and who frequently plunder and 
murder the people composing the caravans. Even when the 
main body escapes the fangs of these robbers, the toil, thirst, 
and excessive fatigue, cut off numbers, especially of the slaves, 
who seem to perish unlamented. 



RIVEltS FROM BOUSSA TO BORNOU. 



173 



The following extract from Lander will show the true 
nature of this dismal spot, and the great dangers and fatigues 
of African travelling, even near populous districts in Africa : — 

"At eleven o'clock in the morning of the 4th of May, a signal to 
depart was made by a loud blast from a thousand horns, producing 
a frightfully discordant noise ; and in about an hour afterwards, the 
whole party was in motion. On entering the dreaded " Goober 
Bush," a wild and uncultivated tract of ground, covered with stunted 
trees, we were obliged to double our pace, in order to escape the 
fangs of the merciless Towayahs. Boussa Jack (a horse, so called 
from having been made me a present of by the king of Boussa) I rode 
myself, on account of his swiftness and agility ; but being unused to 
so violent an exertion, the little animal became much fatigued, and 
began to lag behind the others. The weather was at this time in- 
tolerably hot ; vegetation shrank before the piercing rays of the sun ; 
and the dust, raised by the hoofs of the horses, &c,, arose in huge 
volumes in every direction, entering my eyes, my mouth, my 
nostrils, and penetrating even the pores of my skin. Not a breath 
of air fanned the leaves of the trees ; I was almost suffocated for 
want of it, but snuffed up only sand and dust. The camels were 
far a-head : I was faint and exhausted, and ordered Pasko to fly to 
them for a drop of water. The horse would, or rather could, pro- 
ceed no further ; I was obliged to dismount, and seat myself under 
a tree ; there, holding the bridle of the poor animal in my hand, I 
begged, I prayed the thousands of Falatahs and Tuaricks that were 
passing, for a mouthful of water to quench my parching thirst, but 
the unfeeling, iron-hearted wretches mocked my misery, and scoffed 
at my piteous entreaties, observing one to another, 1 He is a Kafir ; 
let him die ! ' 

" This cruel disappointment almost choked me ; I was so hoarse 
that I could no longer be heard ; and falling flat on my back, let 
the bridle slip from my fingers, and covering my face with my 
hands, tears came involuntarily into my eyes. At length, a young 
Falatah, from Foota Toora, accidentally seeing me lying along the 
earth with a horse standing listlessly by, came to the spot, and 
exclaimed in a tone of kindness, ' Christian, Christian, why don't 
you go on ? ' On hearing him, I again sat up, and answered, ' I am 
faint and sick for want of water ; no one will relieve me ; and how 
can I go on ? ' " — Lander, vol. ii. pp. 91 — 93. 

" I, as well as the horse, was greatly refreshed with the small 



171 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

quantity of water thus taken, but soon becoming again weak and 
dispirited, I was nearly reduced to as bad a condition as before. A 
few hours afterwards, my legs were swollen so prodigiously, that my 
boots split into fragments, and fell from my feet ; and I experienced 
the most acute pain in every part of my body." — P. 94. 

" The young Falatah to whom I owe my life, came to me on the 
7th, and informed me that the whole of the slaves of the king of 
Jacoba being missing, a party of horsemen had been sent in quest 
of them, and were, just returned with the shocking intelligence of 
having seen thirty-five of their dead bodies lying along the road ; 
and that hundreds of vultures were already hovering over them. 
The other fifteen could not be found; but were strongly suspected 
of having shared the same fate. These unfortunate creaffures had 
the task of carrying loads on their heads the day before ; but being 
unable to keep up with the rapid pace of the camels, were necessa- 
rily obliged to be left behind, and thus perished miserably of thirst 
and fatigue. I congratulated myself on my own good fortune, in 
having so narrowly escaped a fate so peculiarly frightful ; and 
thanked the Almighty with fervour and sincerity for having snatched 
me from the very jaws of death. On his leaving me, I gave the 
Falatah a pair of scissors and twenty gun-flints, as a small recom- 
pense for the eminent service he had so cheerfully rendered me."— 
Pp. 95, 96. 

Lake Gondamie is the first of a series of lakes which are 
formed by the Quarrama, or river of Goober, and which stretch 
to Saccatoo by Megaria, where the river is again confined to 
its customary channel ; and in the neighbourhood, and to the 
east of Saccatoo, the river was found to run in a narrow, 
winding bed, within sandy banks, and to be sixty yards broad 
and twelve deep in February, and the current two and a half 
miles an hour. The country from Lake Gondamie is very 
marshy, but it rises on the south into hills, the ridges of which 
run from NN.E. to SS.W. Megaria is accounted very un- 
healthy, because the N.E. winds drive the vapours from the 
swamps adjoining the lakes upon it. The ridges open into 
more extended valleys as Saccatoo is approached. 

The position of Saccatoo is known with considerable accu- 
racy ; but after examining the distances travelled with the 
greatest care, my decided opinion is, that it is at least forty 
miles more to the eastward than the position which Clapperton 



KASIINA, GHANA, OONGAROO. 



175 



has given it. It is distant from Yaoori seven days' journey 
N.E. by the most accurate accounts.* 

From Zirmie to Kashna Clapperton passed through a very 
fine country, intersected by granite ridges, all running from 
NN.E. to SS.W. It being in the dry season, he found no 
rivers, but crossed repeatedly, between Yanducka and Kashna, 
the dry bed of a river, through which, no doubt, a large body 
of water is conveyed to the Quarrama during the rains. Kashna 
is situated in 12° 59' N. lat., and 9° 10' E. long., and was at 
one time known by the name of Sangrass, and afterwards by 
that of Geshna. It is a place well known throughout all the 
interior of Africa. It is built on the top of one of the many 
ridges which are found in these parts, and which run from 
N.E. to S.W. Melons, figs, and pomegranates, are abundant, 
and formerly grapes were to be had in plenty, until the vines 
were rooted up and destroyed by the Fallatahs. From Kashna 
to Duncammee the country is of a similar description to that 
which we have been considering, and from Kashna northward 
to Agadez the country continues to be fertile, as it also is to 
the eastward, towards Bornou. 

KASHNA, GHANA, OONGAROO, ETC. 

The important town of Ghana, and the position where it 
stood, next require a moment's attention. Some centuries ago 
it was the chief seat of the Arabian power in Africa, then a 
mighty empire, the authority of which extended over a very 
considerable portion of central Africa. According to Edrisi, 
the province of Ghana was bounded to the north " with the 
broadest desert, lying out between the countries of the Blacks 
and Barbary, and on the south it joins the infidel's country, to 
wit, Lamlam and other inhabitants." It is, according to him, 
distant from the old town of Germa, by way of Agadez, 37 
caravan journeys. That Ghana and Kano (the G and the K 
being used indiscriminately) are the same, can scarcely admit of 
a doubt. To the east the empire of Ghana was bounded by 
the Mahommedan states comprehended in the extensive country 

* Clapperton's private opinion, I know from good authority, was, that a correct 
observation would place Saccatoo in 7° E. long. 



176 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



named Kanem, which we know is situated to the north of the 
Yeou, and to the north and to the east of Lake Shad ; for the 
empire of Bornou, which has since risen amidst the ruins of 
both countries, was then wholly unknown. To the west it 
was bounded by the great Negro kingdom of Kuku, Kawkaw, 
(a place far distant from the Kuku, in the land of Kanem,) 
which, according to Batouta, as has previously been shown, is 
the first place on the Niger to the east of Timbuctoo, and 
within the limits of the land of Maly, or Melli. According to 
a note, in the translation of Batouta, by Professor Lee (see 
p. 238), extracted from Abulfeda, Ghana, the metropolis of the 
empire mentioned, must have been situated where Kano now 
stands, because he states that the river of Ghana, or the branch 
of the Nile, as the Arabs then denominated every interior 
African river on which the city stood, flowed into the ocean or 
lake in lat. 14° N., and 4° distant from Ghana. There 
is no other ocean or lake so near Ghana as Lake Shad, 
therefore it must be the ocean or sea here alluded to: the 
latitude is correct, and the longitude very nearly so. 

Ghana was represented as being placed upon both sides of 
a fresh-water river, and one part was said to be inhabited by 
Mahommedans, and the other by infidels. This seems to be 
the case with the town of Kano at this day. It is divided into 
two towns by a marsh in the dry season, which is, no doubt, 
full of water in the wet season. In the days of its former 
splendour the marsh might have been a small clear stream, 
though now absorbed in, and spread into a marsh, since the 
decay of the city. It still contains 30,000 inhabitants ; and to 
the southward, that is, amongst the hills of Yacoba, we find it 
is still bounded by infidels or pagans, exceedingly rude and 
savage. In ancient times the sovereign of Ghana was repre- 
sented to be exceedingly rich and powerful, and to have had 
in his possession a remarkable piece of gold, weighing 301bs., 
which, on great occasions, he used as a throne. Abulfeda 
says, that Ghana was fifty days' journey distant from Segelmessa 
in Tafilet (Edrisi gives the distance the same), through dread- 
ful deserts, and that the merchants which traded between the 
two places brought back chiefly red gold, stated to be very 
abundant in Ghana. Much of this gold, however, it is now 



KASIINA, GHANA, OONCAROO. 



177 



known, was produced in other countries, and brought to Ghana 
in the course of trade, though some of it may have been 
obtained in the mountainous countries to the south of Kano, 
in which pagan countries Sultan Bello's narrative informs us 
there is a gold mine, or, in the African acceptation of the word, 
a country which produces gold. 

So much for Ghana, formerly so greatly celebrated, and 
which clearly stood where modern Kano now stands. While 
on this point, regarding the great interior divisions of Africa, 
it will be proper here to allude to a name frequently mentioned 
by modern travellers in Africa, namely Afnoo. According to 
Lyon, the term Afnoo designates an immense district of 
Central Africa extending from Kano and the meridian of 
Kano on the east, westward along the northern bank of the 
Niger to Timbuctoo, and the meridian of that place. Accord- 
ing to the same authority, Agadez is without the boundary of 
Soudan proper, and so also is the country of the Yemyems, or 
Yacoba on the south. This account agrees with the informa- 
tion which Dupuis received at Coomassie regarding the 
southern portion of the latter country, which was placed by 
his informants in Soudan Dakhlata, or Lower Ethiopia. 

Much has been written, and many grievous errors have been 
committed, by confounding the names Owencara, Guangara, 
&c, with the modern Wangara, and from not attending to the 
facts related, regarding the countries to the east of Kashna, 
north of the Yeou, and to the west of Bornou, The position 
of Wangara, see p. 18, has been sufficiently and accurately 
ascertained. By attending to this, and to the facts stated con- 
cerning the other, we obtain from undoubted authority the 
solution of many doubts, and the explanation of some most 
important portions of African geography, particularly as these 
are given to us by Arabian, and still adhered to by some 
modern, geographers. The province of Oongooroo, as the 
natives of these parts pronounce the name, lies to the east of 
Kano and -Zamfra, &c, the very position in which Leo places 
his Guangara, and some Arabian geographers Owencara. 
There can be no doubt about the identity of the names and 
places. The existence of such a place as Oongooroo was 
denied and ridiculed, because it destroyed, if it did exist, many 

N 



178 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



fine theories advanced regarding the geography of interior 
Africa. The existence of this place, however, has lately been 
established beyond cavil or dispute. At Bershee, a town a 
little to the west of Duncamee, Clapperton met the king of 
Oongooroo on his way from Saccatoo to his kingdom, situated 
to the eastward of that place. Bowditch states, that from 
Kano to Oongooroo, through the large towns of Madagee and 
Adaga (perhaps Hadega,) the distance was nine days' journey, 
but seven days if travelled on a camel. Oongooroo, he further 
states, was fifteen days' journey west of Bornou, and that it 
was subject to the latter state ; he also adds, p. 483, that 
Oongooroo " was skirted by a river on the south." Hutchison 
was told at Coomassie (see Bowditch, p. 206) that Oongooroo 
lay to the east of Kastna, and that at one time its pow r er 
extended to Goober on the west, (Sultan Bello confirms this,) 
while at the time Hutchison wrote, it was bounded by Bornou 
on the east. Lyon gives this country under the name of 
Ongornou, and states that it is fourteen days' journey (p. 127,) 
E. by S. of Bornou. The bearing, by a customary mistake, is 
w T rong ; it should be N. by W. Sultan Bello, who in this 
instance ought to be the best authority, calls it in his geogra- 
phical narrative, p. 7, " Oonghor," and places it to the eastward 
of south of Kashna. Horneman heard of this country under the 
name of " Ungura." All dispute about the existence of the 
place is therefore at an end. The word Oongooroo is the 
negro pronunciation and corruption by them and by the 
travelling Moors of the word Oonghor, clearly the Oongooroo 
of Bowditch, Clapperton, &c. ; the Ungura of Horneman; 
the Guangara of Leo, and the Vancara or Owencaraof Edrisi 
and others. This appears quite obvious, even if the position 
of the place did not invincibly fix the point. It is quite a 
different place from the Wangara now known in Africa, and 
stands moreover in a very different and a very distant part of 
Africa from the latter remarkable country. 

Whoever looks at the map, and examines the course of the 
rivers and the country to the north of Kano, which is situated 
betwixt them, and a considerable portion of which is to this 
day known by a name similar to that which the old Arabian 
geographers gave it, will perceive, first, that in the Arabian 



KASI1NA, GHANA, OONGAROO. 



179 



acceptation of the term it is an island ; its length, from the 
eastern side of Lake Shad and the Shary inclusive on the 
east, to eight days' journey to the east of Kano, the boundary 
given by Edrisi on the west, is at least 300 Arabic or geogra- 
phic miles; and its breadth, from a little to the eastward of 
Kashna on the north, to the mountains of Dull on the south, 
or rather from the northern shores of Lake Shad to the 
Shary above Loggun, about 150 miles, and which is the extent 
Ibn al Vardi gives this country of Vancara, and says it 
extends " in the form of an isle or peninsula." Further we 
are assured, from excellent authority, that the whole of this 
country is deeply flooded during the rainy season, particularly 
during the month of August, and in former times it is extremely 
probable that, after the numerous rivers subsided, the inhabi- 
tants around them collected, as Edrisi said they did collect, 
gold in considerable quantities in the sands and banks brought 
down by the rivers from the hills during the inundation. 

Meczara, or Meczarat-el-Soudan, or Maghrara, lay to the 
west of Vancara, and south of the land of Ghana. It was 
through it that a Nile ran to the sea, at the island of Ulii, 
from which to Gana was forty days' journey or caravan stations 
distant. Part of this was in boats up this Nile. Sir George 
Collier (see Report to the House of Commons, 1820,) shows, 
further, the position of Meczara, namely, to the east of Gago, 
and to the north of Dahomey ; in other words, the country 
from about Nikky on the west to the country of Yacoba on 
the east, and through which the Niger, or the other Nile, 
flows which is mentioned by Edrisi and Ibn al Vardi. To 
this day, the number of journeys from Benin to Kano is 
reckoned forty journeys, (see Dupuis,) the number which 
Edrisi gives as the distance between the sea-coast opposite the 
Isle of Ulil and Kano or Ghana. Ibn al Vardi calls the water 
on which the country of Owencara is situated " the Great 
Bahr," by way of eminence, it is presumed, and consequently 
can relate only to Lake Shad. Edrisi states, that Vancara 
lay to the east, and commenced at the distance of eight days' 
journey from Ghana, and that Caugha was one month and a 
half's journey east from Ghana ; and also that it was subject 
to the empire of Vancara : but he adds, that some negroes 

n 2 



180 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OE AFRICA. 



stated it to be subject to Kanem. Mackrisi states that it was 
subject to Kanem, and that it was the last place in that country 
to the south, and three months' journey distant from Zeilah, in 
Fezzan, the first town in the country of Kanem to the north. 
Ibn Said places it as far south as 10° N. lat., and says that it 
had a river of the same name, and further, that the place was 
situated to the eastward of this its river. (Lee's Batouta, p. 237.) 
Browne places Caugha, or Cooka, for the place is the same, 
three and a half days' journey S.E. by E. of Fittre. Lyon 
states that Fittre is fifteen days' journey easterly of New 
Birnie, and Caugha sixteen days' journey E. by S. Bowditch 
and Buckhardt place it in the same position. The position, 
therefore, of Caugha, and the extent of Vancara this way, as 
also its true position, is, from the consideration and collation of 
these authorities, very clearly ascertained. Ibn Said has, 
perhaps, placed it too far to the south ; but the excellent and 
particular account which Mackrisi gives of the very extensive 
country of Kanem, the manners, customs, &c, of its people 
and rulers, the same as we find these to be in Bornou and 
places around Lake Shad at this day, enables us, joined to 
the authority of Browne, Lyon, Buckhardt, &c, to correct 
that error. 

Lamlam, according to Edrisi, was bounded on the west by 
Meczara, on the north by Ghana, and on the east by Vancara, 
and south by a desert or unknown country. Ibn al Vardi 
calls Meczara, Maghrara, and says that Lamlam was included 
in it. Owencara, he says, is situated to the east of Maghrara. 
The capital of Maghrara, he adds, is " Oulili, situated on the 
shore of the sea ; there are salt pits, and a great trade in salt." 
It was through Maghrara, or Meczara, that the Nile or river 
ran which Edrisi said had the Isle of " Ulil not far distant from 
the continent, (one day's sail,) and in it are those famous salt 
pits, the only ones we know in all the country of the negroes, 
whence they are everywhere supplied with salt," &c. 

Further, in reference to the rivers westward, from Kashna 
to Yaoori, it is necessary to state more particularly that these 
flow first westward from Kashna through Goober, thence west 
to Saccatoo, and from thence S.W. to the junction of the 
Niger above Yaoori, having betwixt the two latter places been 



KASHNA, GHANA, OONGAROO. 



181 



joined by two rivers, one from the N.W., and one from the 
S.E., springing in the mountainous country of Abbi. The state 
of Goober lies on both banks of the Quarrama, and is represented 
as being a very fine country, and its inhabitants as descendants 
of the Kopts from Egypt. They are all free, and both 
sexes are as fair in complexion as the Gypsy tribes seen in 
England. They have been able to maintain their independence 
against all the power of Sultan Bello. This state seems to 
have two principal towns, one called Kalawawa, situated on 
the south side of the river, and the other Coonia, on the north 
side of the river, each about four days' journey from Saccatoo. 
Bowditch states, that fifteen journeys from Gamhadi, which is 
two days' journey from the Niger in the route from Degomba 
to Kashna, and nine days' journey from Gamhadi, that tra- 
vellers pass a large river; and in another place he tells us, 
that Goober is the first place of importance westward from 
Kashna, at eight days' journey distant, and " across a great 
river," which can be no other than that mentioned under the 
name of Quarrama : the travelling Moors call this river the 
Koara Raba. 

Next, we come to the river which descends from the north- 
ward and eastward of Kashna, and which forms one of the 
tributaries to the Yeou. The following authorities are ad- 
duced for this. First, Ptolemy, who brings a river from his 
Usargala mountains to the Gir. His words are express and 
remarkable, that his river Gir joins together or unites the Gara- 
mantican and Usargala range ; in other words, that the rivers 
which flow from these ranges have one common receptacle and 
termination. The Usurgala mountains, the middle of them in 
4° west of his Gira metropolis, and 1° west of the meridian of 
his Mount Arualtes, the one falling where Gambaroo, formerly 
the capital of Central Africa, and the other where we now find 
the lofty range terminating on the Atlantic in the high land of 
Cameroons. This Usargala range Ptolemy places in 20° 31' 
N. lat., very nearly indeed in the place where, according to 
Dupuis, we find the Jibbel Twarick mountains and the 
Megran mountains mentioned in Arrowsmith's map. Secondly, 
D'Anville, who had excellent information regarding the in- 
terior of Africa, places a river in this quarter springing still 



182 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

more remote to the north, and which he calls Wad-el- 
Mazzeran, and adds, that the caravans from the north to 
Agadez and Soudan travelled during the space of seven days' 
journey along its banks before coming to the town mentioned. 
Thirdly, Mr. Dupuis places in his map a river called Bahar 
(Beiram), descending from the north, passing to the east of 
Kashna, and forming the boundary betwixt the country of 
Haoussa in that quarter and Bornou, and flowing eastward to 
the Yeou. For this, he says, he had very clear authority, 
repeated unto him, too, after he had exhibited to his informants 
his delineation of it on the map. Fourthly, we have the 
information which Lyon received about this river, which he was 
told was called Ringhem, and w T as found at the distance of 
seven days' journey east from Kashna, though in another place 
he gives the route from Kashna to this river to the northward 
as being only three or four days. Both he and Dupuis add, 
in their customary African phraseology, that this river comes out 
of Bornou. Fifthly, Wargee, a travelling Moor, or Twarick, 
stated at the British settlement on the Gold Coast, about six- 
teen or seventeen years ago, as follows : — " That one day's 
journey south of Agadez, a large river is crossed, about four 
hundred yards broad ; and that, though this took place in the 
middle of the dry season, still the depth was so great that it 
came up to the shoulders of the camels when crossing it. 
This river, he further stated, ran through the Twarick country." 
(Gold Coast Correspondent). Sixthly, That there are rivers 
here we have an invincible proof in the known nature of the 
country itself. " Agadez, 1 ' says Lyon, and whose description 
of it is amply confirmed by various other authorities, " is a 
large district having a town of the same name. It is thirty-six 
days' from Mourzook in summer, and in winter is sometimes 
forty-five. It is fifteen or twenty days' from Kashna; twenty 
from Bornou; thirty in summer, and thirty-five or forty in 
winter, from Ghraat ; and forty from Tuat. The inhabitants 
are Twarick, of the tribe of Kellewi. It is a larger town than 
Mourzook : the houses are of mud, and are built in the same 
style and of the same size as in Fezzan r some have a kind 
of second story. It is surrounded by a wall of mud and stone, 
of sufficient strength to protect it. There is a very high 



KASHNA, GHANA, OONGAROO. 



183 



mouadden, or minaret, to the principal mosque, which the 
Twarick affect to consider higher than any in Egypt. The 
country is independent, and is governed by a sheikh, who is 
a mulatto, and of middle age, Yusuffab. He is considered as 
great a man as the Sultan of Fezzan. Dome dates are in 
great plenty : the common ones are scarce, and never arrive at 
any degree of perfection. The soil of the country is earth, 
not sand, and is quite covered with grass. There are large 
trees, chiefly the Talkh. Corn and vegetables are in plenty, 
and animal food is very cheap. The people are rigid Moslems." 
(Lyo?is Travels, p. 131.) It is scarcely necessary to observe, 
that neither this part of Africa, nor any other, could be in such 
a state without water and without rivers. 

Sheref Inhammed's account of the route from Mourzook to 
Kashna is interesting, as giving to the inquirer a pretty correct 
idea of the nature of the country between these two places. 
From Mourzook to the province of Hiatts, is a journey of 
fourteen days SS.W., five of which are through a sandy 
desert. From the province of Hiatts, they cross the mountains 
of Eyre, from which there flows a small river that speedily loses 
itself in the sands. This river is left on the right side of the 
road. The sixth day brings them to Gannatt. From Gannatt 
it is nineteen days' journey to Assouda, during six of which 
they pass a thirsty desert. From Assouda to Agadez, is a 
journey of eight days, through a delightful country, as fertile 
as it is numerously peopled. Indian corn is abundant, and 
herds of cattle are frequently met with. From Mourzook to 
Agadez, are forty-seven days of active travelling. From Agadez 
to Begzam, is three clays' journey, through a country where 
there is a luxuriant growth of Indian corn, and in the pastures 
multitudes of cows and flocks of sheep. From Begzam to 
Tegomah, is a journey of two days, through a country of 
herdsmen. From Tegomah to Kashna, is a journey of twelve 
days, the first two of which are over desolate hills ; the third 
day comes to scorching sands ; and on the evening of the fifth 
day, the traveller reaches a fine country, beautifully diversified 
with hill and dale, and covered with rich rewards of the 
husbandman and shepherd's toil. It is remarkable that grapes 
do not grow to the westward of the meridian of Kashna. 



184 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



The position of Kouka, the capital of Bornou, has been 
ascertained by various travellers with sufficient accuracy, 
namely, 12 Q 56' N. lat. according to Denham, and by various 
authorities in 14° 28' E. long., and nearly S. of Mourzook. 
This agrees with the account given by all native travellers that 
Bornou is south of Mourzook, and it also agrees in a very 
curious and remarkable manner with the itineraries collected by 
Buckhardt and others regarding the distances and countries 
eastward from Bornou to the Nile, and also with the journeys 
and distances given both by native and British travellers re- 
garding the countries to the westward and northward. That 
the Shad is a lake, and has no outlet, will be more particularly 
noticed and clearly established in another place. To one of its 
tributaries, the Yeou, attention is in the first instance directed; 
but before doing this, it is necessary to remark that in adverting 
to tropical African rivers, the season of the year under which 
they are considered, and any thing relating to them stated, must 
always and particularly be borne in mind. 

Towards the close of the dry season, Denham and the party 
with him visited the banks of the Yeou in order to examine and 
survey the ruins of Old Birnie and Gambarou. On the 24th of 
May they reached the Yeou at Lada, seventy miles from Kouka. 
There the river makes a bend like an S ; it was extremely 
shallow, and had a dry path over the bed ; they followed to 
some distance the easterly course of the stream. Next day they 
proceeded westward along its banks towards Birnie, and in their 
route passed several lakes, the remains of rainy-season streams. 
From the top of one of the ruins " they obtained a sight of the 
Gambarou, running nearly east, notwithstanding its windings, 
and only a few miles distant." From Old Birnie they visited 
Gambarou, the former country residence of the sovereigns of 
Bornou. It is situated on the south bank of the river, at a short 
distance from Old Birnie and Lake Muggabee. " It came from 
Soudan ; here a very noble stream, nearly a quarter of a mile 
in breadth, and situated between two high banks, thickly over- 
grown with jungle, bushes, and bamboo. We endeavoured to 
ascertain if there was any current, but the water appeared per- 
fectly stationary. Omar Gana, however, and the Showaas 
who had accompanied us, were unanimous in declaring that 



THE YEOU, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



185 



after the rains a very strong current from west to east constantly 
flowed." — P. 155. 

On the 26th of May the party followed the course of the 
river to the eastward nearly three miles, and at length came to 
an open dry shoal of sand, the bed of the river extending more 
than 200 yards ; and from that point the stream was here again 
called Yeou. Next afternoon they moved and crossed about two 
miles distant to the north bank of the river. " On the following 
day proceed on our course, winding with the river, nearly as 
broad as the Thames at Richmond ;" recrossed the Yeou to the 
eastward at a very dry spot, and then came to Damasak. Sub- 
sequently the party went with the army of the sheik, and again 
crossed the Yeou at Kabshary, a town on its north bank to the 
westward of Gambarou. Again saw the river four miles from 
Bassecour, &c. On the 19th of June again visited Kabshary; 
saw and bathed in the river Gambarou at the former place. 

All the parts around Old Birnie to the south and the west 
were particularly examined, and were then quite dry, except 
small lakes here and there, the remains of the flooding of the 
river, and of what is called a rainy-season stream, which will 
presently be specially attended to. 

Captain Clapperton proceeded on his journey from Kouka 
to Saccatoo on the 14th December following, soon after the 
rains had ceased. On the 16th they came to the Yeou, to the 
east of Damasak, Where they approached to it, it was one 
quarter of a mile distant. It had fallen six feet, but was run- 
ning at the rate of three miles per hour. Along its banks 
westward there was a chain of lakes. The country from 
Damasak to Lake Muggabee was then inundated by waters, 
the junction of streams formed in the wet season, and which 
flow to the Yeou, (p. 3, &c.) The travellers were conse- 
quently obliged to take a circuit from the river, that is, to- 
wards the S.W., in order to avoid the waters and the marshes ; 
and in order to regain what is called the lower road, or that 
by the river side, they had " at noon to halt on the banks of 
one of these temporary rivers which are formed during the wet 
season : it still contained a considerable body of water, which 
was running at the rate of two miles an hour." They were 
ferried over on temporary rafts, formed with long reeds, which 



186 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



grow on the borders of the current. " They proceeded two 
or three miles up (that is, to the W.S.W.) the banks of the 
river, which last summer did not contain a drop of water ; but 
nobody, from merely seeing it in that state, could suppose that 
for nearly one half the year it is a broad sheet of water; or, 
that the upper road itself is traversed for the same period by 
several large streams falling into the Yeou." 

Here it is proper to remark, that the fact of there being no 
canoes, which are always to be found at all permanent rivers, 
in order to transport passengers, is of itself a proof that this, 
as the travellers stated, was merely a rainy-season stream, as 
regarded the low country ; while the magnitude of the stream 
at this period showed that its sources must be at a considerable 
distance, and in a very elevated, woody, and mountainous 
country, where the effects of the dry season had as yet been 
little felt. 

On the 20th of December, the party travelled over the 
upper grounds on account of the inundation, and on the 22d, 
again came to the Yeou, and crossed over a neck of land 
formed by the river, when they came to Dungamee. " The 
banks of the river are everywhere studded with towns and 
villages. On the 23d of December they marched and followed 
a winding path, nearly due west, and reached Deltago." 
Having passed several towns and villages they came to one 
called Kukabonee, also on the bank of the Yeou. " The 
country to the west of Old Birnie rises in gentle undulations 
of hill and dale," but " there are very few trees, except on the 
banks of the Yeou." December 25th, they " left Deltago, 
and winding along the banks of the river, or occasionally cut- 
ting off a bend by a cross path, they reached Bedeckarfee." 
Here they quitted the Yeou and crossed the Bede, a woody 
country to Bedeguma. Near Lake Zumbum, in its neghbour- 
hood, the country westward and southward at that time 
appeared a dismal swamp. At Bedeguma " I inquired of the 
governor about the course of the swollen river we crossed on a 
raft between Gataramaram and Old Birnie, which again pre- 
sented itself close to our present encampment. He told me 
that it rose in the country of Jacoba among the rocky hills, 
and running to the eastward of Old Birnie, soon afterwards 



THE YEOU, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



187 



entered the Yeou. The river," he said, 44 was distinguished 
by the name of the Little River, and in these parts did not dry 
up the whole year." The country to the S.E. and S.W. then 
appeared to be an entire swamp, from the overflowings occa- 
sioned by the tropical rains. Bedeguma was about twelve 
miles SS.W. of Lake Zumbum. The Little River suddenly 
breaks off to the southward at a town called Gobeer, a short 
distance west of Bedeguma. 

Before quitting this part of the country, it will be best to 
notice what Clapperton says about it and the Yeou on his 
return from Saccatoo, just at the termination of the dry season. 
On the 26th of June, he reached Guba, a small town on the 
south bank of the Yeou, within the dominions of Bornou, 
and N.E. of the Bede country. On the 27th of June, he 
crossed to the north bank of the river, which was then almost 
dry, and travelled E. by S. by it to Muznee. On June 28th, 
travelled eastward along a crooked path to the town of Redwa. 
On the 29th, travelled E. by N., and, crossing the river, came 
to Kukabonee, formerly mentioned on the south bank. Thence, 
June 80th, to Dungamee, and July 1st, to Lake Muggabee. 
July 3d, passed on by Lake Muggabee; thence to Gatara- 
maram, and thence, J uly 4th, eastward on the banks of the 
Yeou, when, quitting the river, he proceeded by the nearest 
road to Kouka. 

But the evidence obtained from facts relating to the upper 
part of the course of the Yeou, and its early tributaries, is 
equally strong and conclusive as to its easterly course. Pro- 
ceeding westward from Bedeguma, Clapperton came on the 
1st of January to the little village of Obenda, not above one 
quarter of a mile from the Yeou. Near the river were large 
fields of wheat ; the population were then busy in sowing their 
second crop. The appearance of wheat shows the elevation of 
the country. Besides, the thermometer, on the 26th of Decem- 
ber, after sunrise, stood at 49 o ; on the 28th, at 45° ; Decem- 
ber 31st at 42° ; but on the 27th, in the Bede country, the cold 
was so great " that the water in the skins was covered with 
thin flakes of ice ; the water skins were frozen as hard as a 
board, and the horses and camels stood shivering under it." 
Clapperton, in his letter dated Kano, February 2d, 1824, 



188 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



announcing the death of Dr. Oudney, states, " that the water 
was frozen in the dishes." This indicates a very high elevation 
indeed of the country in this part, and, moreover, proves that 
the country to the northward must he very high also. In lat. 
12° N. it could scarcely be less than 10,000 feet above the 
level of the sea. 

At mid-day on the 2d of January, they crossed the Yeou. 
Its channel here, close to Kattagum, was about 150 yards 
broad, but the stream of water was not above one-third the 
breadth of the channel, and in some places it was almost dry. 
The Dushee hills or rocks began to the S.W. of Kattagum, 
and run in the direction of S.W. About one day's journey 
north of Kattagum, and at a town called Hadega, the Yeou, 
according to Clapperton, is joined by the Shassum, and, of 
course, the other rivers from the west, and at no great distance. 
South of Zangeia, and thence westward towards Kano, arise 
high blue mountains, the hills of Dull, 600 or 700 feet high. 
All the country to the S. and S.W. between Kattagum and 
Kano is very hilly. Soon after passing the town of Murmur, 
where Dr. Oudney died, Clapperton crossed "a narrow stream 
called the Shassum," and between Boogawah and Katungwa, 
the first town in the country of Haoussa, he crossed another 
stream, which he names the Shassum, but it is quite obvious, 
that from the course he travelled, E. to W., and the course of 
this stream, " running nearly north," that it could not be the 
Shassum, but another and a distinct river coming like the 
other from the south. The Yeou he was told at Kattagum 
rose on the hills south of that place, and between Jacoba and 
Adamowa. The two streams mentioned, like that which pass 
Girkwa, come in the same direction, and from the mountains of 
Dull, while the Sockwa, which passes Duakie, flows from the 
hill of Nora, situated ten or twelve miles to the east of Bae- 
baejie; and to the south of Duakie is joined by a larger stream, 
which flows east from the hills of Aushin, and passing eight 
miles to the south of Kano, where Lander crossed it, and calls 
it the Kogie ; and which stream again is, to the westward of 
Duakie, or rather to the S.W., joined by another stream, which 
Lander calls the Gora, and which comes from the same quarter 
as the other, and flows eastward about eight miles north of 



THE YEOU — LAKE SHAD, OR Z AD. 



Baebaejie to the Kogie. Baebaejie is, as clearly stated by 
Clapperton, the highest point in the road from Zaria to Kano, 
and the hills in the directions mentioned clearly form the 
elevated ranges which, on their respective sides, turn the waters 
westward to the Niger, and eastward and northward to the 
Yeou. Moreover, the Girkwa is the stream which a Sheeref 
wanted on a preceding day to make Clapperton believe formed 
the water communication always talked of between the Quorra 
and the Yeou, but which ocular demonstration showed him 
to be false. 

Katungwa, as has been stated, is the first town in the 
country of Haoussa. The country here is thickly wooded. 
About Zangeia and Nansarina, it is highly cultivated. Cotton 
is very abundant, and the females are very generally employed 
in spinning it into yarn, from which cloth to a considerable 
extent is made. Betwixt Nansarina and Girkwa the country 
is very beautiful. A small stream is crossed a little to the 
east of Girkwa, but the name of it is not stated. The channel 
of the river Girkwa is extremely shallow, and only from sixty 
to seventy yards broad. In the channel of the Sockwa, the 
water was only " ancle deep," and at that period not above 
one-twentieth part of its breadth was covered. 

In their progress from Mourzook, and after having passed 
the desert, Denham and his party came to the Shad, or Zad, on 
its north-west point, and afterwards going south, near its western 
borders, they came, on the 13th of February, " to a very con- 
siderable stream called Yeou." "It had a hard sandy bottom," 
and " banks perpendicular." In some parts it was more than 
fifty yards broad ; the current strong, about three miles and a 
half per hour. It flowed to the eastward. At times it was 
stated to be double the breadth just mentioned. The inhabitants 
around, " were unanimous that it came from Soudan," (p. 59.) 
This was early in the dry season, and before the river was at 
its lowest ebb. When on his return to Tripoli, Denham again 
crossed the stream, on the 23d of August, during the height of 
the wet season. The Yeou was then in flood, a considerable 
stream full of water, and running towards the Shad at the 
rate of three miles an hour. " In the afternoon, Belial," the 
guide, "accompanied me down the river about nine miles, 



190 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



where, increasing in width to about 100 yards, it flows into the 
Shad with a strong and deep current of water." 

Let us next proceed to Lake Shad itself, in order to show 
that it is a lake without any outlet. Denham travelled along 
the whole of its southern and western shores, and found the 
Yeou running into it in the former quarter, and the Shary, 
with two smaller streams, on the other. On the north shore he 
travelled two days, but was obliged to turn back when he was 
only four days' journey from Tangalia. It had no outlet there, 
nor could it have any, and every one informed him that it had 
none. To the north and north-east there is even no permanent 
supplies received, as is proved, not only by what the natives 
relate, but by the fact, that the caravans which traverse the 
country between Dar Saley, and Mourzook, and which pass 
at no great distance from its northern and eastern shores, cross 
no rivers or streams, but are obliged to have recourse to wells 
for water to drink on the journey. Barca Gana, whom Denham 
met returning from his expedition around its northern, or 
north-eastern shores, met with no rivers there. But Sheikh el 
Kanemy, the ruler of these parts, who knows the country well, 
and who had repeatedly gone round the lake, settles the point, 
completely and satisfactorily, in the letter which he wrote to 
Major Denham from Bornou, after the Major had reached 
England. In this letter he says, " with regard to the desire 
which you expressed to us, to know the source of the inun- 
dation which divides our country, we have to inform you that 
this sea (river) of ours, is a great and extensive lake, the circum- 
ference of which is about twenty days' journey, and into which 
various rivers empty themselves, from the part of the land of 
Soudan, and from the right and east of our country." — Ap- 
pendix, p. 152, dated 20th of March, 1825. 

The great extent of this lake is sufficient in such a climate, 
and in such a country, to account for the absorption of its 
waters by evaporation ; and another proof that it has no outlet 
is, that it overflows its shores to a great distance during the 
rainy season, and sometimes very suddenly, as Denham and 
his fellow-travellers witnessed immediately after reaching its 
banks ; where in the month of February it rose several feet in 
one night, extending its waters above a mile from their former 



THE YEOU — LAKE SHAD. 



191 



bounds. Denham's words are remarkable. Near Lari, " the 
soil of the lake was a dark, firm mud ; and in proof of the great 
overflowings and recedings in the water, even in this advanced 
dry season, the stalks of the gussub of the preceding year 
were standing in the lake more than forty yards from the shore. 
(Denham, p. 47, February 5th.) If it had any outlet it would 
not thus overflow its banks. 

The course of the Yeou and its tributary streams, together 
with the principal streams and their tributaries, which run in 
an opposite direction, have thus been very fully examined and 
determined. Nothing can be more specific than the accounts 
which we have of the nature, the magnitude, and the course of 
the Yeou and its tributaries, during both the wet and the dry 
season. Again and again were its banks visited, its course and 
current and its termination witnessed and examined. Were 
every river in Africa as well known, we should have little to 
desire in African geography. 

It remains only to sum up, as shortly as possible, the facts 5 
the authorities, and the evidence given from the course of these 
streams, and more especially of the Yeou, of its course east, 
and termination in Lake Shad. First, then, we have the au- 
thority and positive testimony of both Denham and Clapperton, 
given after repeated ocular demonstrations, that the Yeou and 
its tributaries run east, and terminate in the Lake Shad. 
Secondly, we have the positive testimony of both Clapperton 
and Lander, after repeated personal examinations, that the 
rivers to the west of the sources of the Yeou, the Coodonia 
included, are all separate streams from the Yeou, and run west 
and join the Niger. Also, we have their testimony given from 
information repeatedly received while on the spot, that the 
Coodonia, or Kadania, flowed from the east, and entered the 
Niger in NyfFe. Fourthly, with regard to the Coodonia, we 
have the positive testimony of Sultan Bello to the same effect, 
and that the river is named Kaduna as well as Kadania and 
Coodonia. Fifthly, we have the authority of Lander to state, 
that in descending the Niger on his second voyage, he passed 
some distance above Egga, but during the night, the mouth 
of the Coodonia on the eastern side of the Niger. Sixthly, 
as regards the Yeou, we have the clear testimony of Dupuis, 



192 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

who, under the name of Gulbe Kerba, lays down this river as 
flowing from the west, and after its junction with other 
tributaries flowing into the Lake Shad, similar to the way 
that Denham and Clapperton represented it to do. Seventhly, 
Abdal Gassam, the son of a Fallatah chief, at Jinne, a man 
who could repeat the whole of the Koran by heart, and who 
had travelled the whole way from that place to Timbuctoo, 
along the whole course of the middle Niger, and thence on 
from Kano to Bornou, told Denham there, that the river 
Yeou was a distinct and separate stream from the river of 
Timbuctoo. Eighthly, the Mandara traveller, whom Denham 
met with in Mandara, and who had travelled and crossed the 
great river to the south of that place in Adamowa, assured 
him, that while the great river he alluded to was connected 
with the river of NyfFe, yet that neither of them had any con- 
nexion with either the Yeou or the Shary, each of which, 
while they were distinct rivers, flowed into the Lake Shad, 
Ninthly, Lyon's informants told him, (see p. 142) that at 
Kattagum, the Nil or Gulbe passes from behind Kashna. " It 
runs N.E. at this place, and must be crossed;" and again, 
(p. 127) his informants state, a river, called Nil by the natives, 
flows across the road from Bornou to Kashna, to the N.E. ; 
further, (at p. 129) another set of informants told him, that " in 
Kanem, and within one day of Maoo, the capital is a very 
large river, which comes from the S.W. to the N.E. ; it is 
called by the people of the country Yaoo, but by the Moorish 
travellers Nil ;" the informants here making both the Yeou 
and the Lake Shad, as one. Tenthly, we have the positive 
testimony of Sheikh El Kanemy, that the Shad is a lake, 
and that it has no outlet, but that the Yeou, from the west or 
Soudan, and the Shary, with other rivers from the south, run 
into it. To his authority also, we must add that of the old 
Dugganah chief, Tahir, who had lived all his days upon its 
borders, and who told Denham, at Tangalia, on its S.E. shore, 
that it was a lake, and had no outlet. Eleventh, and to turn 
to very ancient authority, we have first the testimony of 
Ptolemy, that all the rivers in that quarter of Africa were 
distinct, and had no connexion with the Niger. Twelfth, we 
have the positive testimony of Shceabeddin, the old Arabian 



THE YEOU, AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 



193 



geographer that the Nile, as the eastern river was called, " did 
not run to the sea" i. e. to the Atlantic Ocean ; " but only to the 
end of the inhabited part of the land of Ghana." Lastly, we 
have the fact of the great elevation of the country itself west- 
ward to Kano. &c. Other authorities might be adduced to 
the same effect, but it is considered unnecessary. 

After this, after the clear and satisfactory information which 
has been received ; after ocular demonstration by men ac- 
knowledged to be sane, and with their eye-sight perfect, and 
chosen to explore Africa because they were sane, and had 
their eye-sight perfect; and which information goes to establish 
ancient authorities, and enables us to correct the errors of 
others, and also our own ; the question might have been con- 
sidered as completely set at rest. The Egyptian Nile theory 
was reason ; and that of Sir Rufane Donkin, that the Niger 
ran from Wangara about Bornou through the mountains of 
Tibeste and the deserts of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea 
near the Syrtes, were sanity when compared to Captain Allen's 
speculations. The Quarterly Review, in support of its Nile 
theory, might have asserted with as much justice, that Laird, 
Lander, Oldfield and Allen, were wholly mistaken in what 
they saw, and that the Kowara or Niger, and the Shadda 
ran out of the sea, and from the alluvial country, instead of 
running through the one and into the other, N.E. and then 
east to the Bahr el Abiad. 

It has been objected, and it may yet be objected, that Lake 
Shad being, as it confessedly is, fresh water, must have an 
outlet, because it is uncommon or unknown in any other 
quarters of the world that any lakes, except salt water lakes, 
are without such outlets. This reasoning and argument come 
with an ill grace from those who assert and admit that Lake Fittre, 
a fresh water lake, has no outlet. The reason, however, is at 
once refuted and silenced by a reference to the fact, that the 
" Sea of Durrah," as it is called, the receptacle of the river 
Helmund, in Western Asia, is fresh water, and yet has no 
outlet. The authority of Ebn Haukal, the most accurate of 
all the Arabian geographers, is decisive on this point ; especially 
as it is universally acknowledged that he witnessed per- 
sonally all he relates. At p. 206, Ouseley's Translation, he 





194 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



says this lake or sea of Durrah c< is in length about thirty 
farsang (120 miles), and in breadth about one Merhileh 
(30 miles); its waters are sweet and wholesome, and 
afford abundance of fish." 

Bornou is a very extensive country, extending from 10° to 16° 
N. lat., and from about 11° to 18° E. long. The country all 
around the Lake Shad, and for a considerable distance to the 
W. S.W., and the south, is all alluvial and marshy, and by no 
means cultivated in any part to the extent that it might be. This, 
however, may in part be accounted for by the constant wars 
in which the sovereign has been engaged, he having only of late 
years rescued the country from the destructive power of the 
Fallatahs, who had overrun the whole of it, and shattered to 
pieces the former great empire of Kanem, on the ruins of which 
and of Ghana and Vancara the modern empire of Bornou has 
arisen. Sheikh Kanemy, the ruler, is a man of superior 
judgment and enterprise; he is most anxious to have a. commu- 
nication with Europeans, and could he only establish one 
certain and secure, as might without much difficulty be done, 
he would speedily change the face of affairs for the better 
in the whole interior of Africa. 

Kouka, the capital of Bornou, as already stated, has been 
fixed, as regards its position in Africa, with considerable 
precision by the concurrent testimony derived from the distances 
given by all African travellers. In order to shew that the 
positions of the other places are fairly placed, it may not be 
improper to lay before the reader, in a tabular shape, the time 
and distances occupied and traversed by the different travellers 
in their respective routes, taking that distance only at two 
geographical miles per hour; the utmost which, on the general 
bearings, can be made good, even in the dry season, in any 
country south of the Great. Desert. The African period of 
travelling from Kouka to Kano, is thirty days ; and Lander 
informs us, that the distance from Kano to Saccatoo occupies 
twenty regular journeys to get over ; and on his return we find 
that he left Saccatoo on the 4th, and reached Kano on the 25th 
of May. Lyon was informed, that NyfBe was twenty days' 
journey from Kano. 



DISTANCES OF PLACES. 



195 



Kouht, Bornou, to Kano. 

Days. Hours. Geo. Miles. 







72 


144 


Bedekerfee to Kattagum . . 


. 7 


68 


136 




10 


83 


166 


Total . 


. 27 


223 


446 



This journey was performed in the dry season, and the course 
was nearly due west; but fifty miles of the journey was taken up 
in travelling about N.W. from Kouka to the Yeou, during which 
time only about thirty-five miles of westing could be made good. 
Still, with what remains, and after making a reasonable 
allowance, Kano cannot be farther west than where it is 
placed. 

Next let us turn to the journey from Kano to Saccatoo. 
This journey was also, in the first trip by Clapperton, performed 
in the dry season, and early in it. 





Days. 


Hours. G 


eo. Mi 






34 


68 






39 


78 




4 


44 


88 


Total . 


. 14 


117 


234 



The latter days were partly occupied in long and hurried 
marches through the dreaded Goober Bush 9 which spot sets at 
defiance all accurate geographical calculations. Lander, in 
following his master, took seventeen days, 121 J hours, to 
perform the journey. In returning, Lander took twenty-one 
days ; but during some of these he halted, without particu- 
larizing the number. Clapperton, returning towards the close 
of the dry season, took only thirteen days, about 100 hours ; 
but then he travelled unusually quick. 

Quarrie to Kashna, §c. 

Days. Hours. Geo. Miles. 
Quarrie to Kashna* 4 34 68 

Kashna to Duncammee 3 22j 45 



* Quarrie to Zirmie was eight hours of this. 

o 2 



196 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Kano to the Niger at Comie> 





Days. 


Hours. 


Geo. Miles. 




1 


11 


22 


Baebaejie to Zaria* . . 


5 


32 


64 




, 5 


44 


88 




5 


39i 


79 


Womba to Koolfu, by Beari . . 


6 


50 


100 




4 


27i 


55 


Total . 


26 


204 


408 




Lander, from Kano to Dunrora, 


%c. 






Days. 


Hours. 


Geo. Miles. 


Kano to Cuttup, by Baebaejie, &c. . 


14 


88 


176 




3 


28 


56 " 


Total . . 


17 


116 


232 



The last day, from Dungoora to Dunrora, the longest day's 
journey in point of time of the whole ; but little progress was 
made, owing to the dreadfully mountainous, rocky, and in- 
undated state of the roads. The whole journey was performed 
during the very worst part of the wet season. Under the 
particular circumstances he could not make good, on the 
general bearings, above ten geographical miles per day, or, in 
all, 170. 

Dunrora to Zaria, 





Days. 


Hours. Geo. Miles 


Dunrora to Cuttup, northerly . . 


. 3 


28 


56 


Cuttup to Coodonia, westerly 


4 


28 


56 


Coodonia to Zaria, northerly . . 


S 


60J 


121 


Total . 


. 12 


88J 


177 



* The two first numbers are taken from Clapperton's advance just at the com- 
mencement of the rainy season, but before the rains materially impeded tra- 
velling ; the remaining numbers are taken from Lander's return journey from 
Zaria to the Niger, during the rainy season, when travelling is slower and 
generally much impeded. 



THE RIVER SIIARY. 



197 



From Womba to the Niger. 



Clapperton, Second Journey from 
Niger to Womba, was . . . . 

Lander, returning from Womba to 
the Niger, was 



Days. Hours. Geo. Miles. 



12 



80 



100 



9 



149 



THE RIVER SHARY, &C. 



The River Shary* and the country adjacent next demand 
our attention. A little to the east of Angernou, which is one 
day's journey from New Birnie, Denham tells us there is a 
little river called Molee, which enters Lake Shad in its S.W. 
quarter. The expression " little" shows that its magnitude 
cannot be great, although we are not told what that magnitude 
is, nor from what quarter it flowed; but, every thing con- 
sidered, the stream must come from the S.W. Beyond this, 
and more to the eastward, about halfway between this river 
and the River Shary, we are told by the same authority, 
flows the river called Gambularam. Bowditch mentions this 
river under the name of the Gabooa, about ten days' journey 
from Old Birnie. We have no definite idea given of the 
magnitude of this river, but it must be considerable from the 
facts stated by Denham, namely, first, that when he came to 
it on his return from Loggun, he found it near Filla not ford- 
able ; and, secondly, that when the army of Bagherme was de- 
feated by Sheikh Kanemy on its western bank, a great number 
of the fugitives were drowned in its waters in their hurry 
endeavouring to escape across it. The course of the Shary 
shows us that this river also must come from the south-west, and 
most probably from the north-east corner of the Mandara range. 
In marching to Mandara, Denham says that they ascended the 
whole way ; that near Degoa, on the north, they passed a broad 
dry river-course, and which, it appears, was the first they had 
reached in their progress from Kouka to this point. Advancing 
south, they crossed its bed on the following day, then without 
water. As they approached Dolou, to the south of Mora, the 

* The manuscripts of travelling Moors write this word " Shar," " Sher,^ 
li Shavr," " Shary," or " Sharree." 



198 



GEOGllAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



country rose rapidly, and the Mandara chain, a primitive 
granite range, stood before them. In the neighbourhood, and 
south-west of Mora, Denham found many springs, and after 
passing through the beautiful pass of Horza, to the south of 
Mora, they came, first, to a small stream, the Mikwa, and, 
fifteen geographical miles further, to another stream, called 
Makkeray, the water in which, when crossing it, came up to the 
hips. These springs and streams are most probably the sources, 
either of the Gambularam, or the western branch of the Shary, 
and most likely, I think, the sources of the former. In his 
route from Bornou, Denham crossed no rivers, and conse- 
quently he must have passed to the westward of the branches 
of the Gambularam. The course which he has given the 
Shary, its short distance from the route to Mandara, as laid 
down in the map constructed for his work, when taken in con- 
nexion with the fact of the existence of such a river as the 
River Gambularam, all go to prove that his route to Mandara 
must have been to the westward of south considerably, perhaps 
SS.W., and not due south, as the constructor of the map has 
made it. He himself does not give us the bearing of his route, 
except the stage from Angernou, which was south ; and if the 
journey was made, as I presume it was made, by compass, then 
in that quarter the variation being about two points would give 
a SS.W. course, and consequently the direction just stated. 
That the route was by compass we are warranted in concluding, 
because he tells us that he had one with him. From the first 
perusal of his journey, my impression, every thing considered, 
was, that Denham's route from Kouka to Mandara lay con- 
siderably to the westward of south, and subsequent researches, 
and a deeper consideration of the subject, tend more and 
more to confirm that opinion. This admitted will leave suffi- 
cient room, and no more, for the positions of the sources and 
the courses of the Gambularam and the western branches of 
the Shary. The distances which Denham has given us as 
travelled over, namely, thirty miles per day, 180 miles in six 
days, from Mora to Kouka, have already been adverted to, and 
a more reasonable distance taken, and the position of Mora 
regulated and fixed accordingly, namely, in 10° 30' N. lat. 
Fifteen miles beyond the Makkary is the strong Fellatah 



THE RIVER SIIARY. 



199 



town of Musafeia, where the marauding expedition with which 
Denham travelled was beaten back. Thirty-five miles more to 
the south rose the alpine peak of Mendify, around which and 
from which masses or ranges of hills spread themselves in every 
picturesque form and direction, more especially southward, 
while the Mandara range ran, as he states, in interminable 
ranges E.S.E., S.W. and W., and W.N.W. The valley of 
Horza is about 2500 feet above the level of the sea. The nearest 
and surrounding peaks rose 2500 feet above that valley, and the 
more distant to the south again rose several thousand feet above 
these. Denham speaks with rapture of the beauty of the country 
to the south of Mora; it would seem to be very populous. 
Degoa contains 30,000 inhabitants ; Mora a great number. 
S.E. of Mora is the pagan town and country of Musgou, and 
S.W. (in another place he says W.) is the town and country 
of Karowa, where iron abounds, and from whence that used in 
Mandara is brought. Buckhardt mentions, in his enumeration 
of the population of Bornou, the tribe of Mandara or the Arab 
tribe, called Dar Mandara, as dwelling in these parts, and that 
they were subject to Bornou, This country and people, we 
learn from Sultan Bello and his schoolmaster, are situated to 
the north of the great district of Adamowa, sometimes also 
called Foobena, which is mountainous, and " contains vales, 
hills, and rivers." The capital is Ghorin, an d two-thirds of its 
people are infidels, and the other third Mahommedan Felans. 

The Shary, as stated, enters the Shad from the south. 
At Showey it is 650 yards broad in the dry season, and this 
after having thrown off three branches, one branch towards the 
north-east and two to the north-westward. Denham speaks of 
it as deep, descending from Showey to the Shad. When 
united in one stream it must be a considerable body of water ; 
yet Denham states, that at Dugheia, below the first and a 
north-western branch, it is fordable in the dry season, the water 
reaching up to the neck. The north-western branch at 
MafTetai, where forded in the dry season, was so deep that the 
water came up to the body of the horse, and south-west of it, 
to some distance, the country is marshy, intersected with arms 
of the river, in one of which, where crossed, the water came 
up to the saddle of the horse. Quitting Showey and passing 



200 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Maffetai and the branch there, Denham travelled through the 
country to the west of the Shary, by Aflatai, Kola, and Aiph, 
to the Shary, at Kussery, where the river, he says, is " a wide 
and handsome stream," and sweeps thence, first to the SS.W., 
and next S.W. to Kernuck, the capital of the province, or 
country of Loggun, where the river, he adds, flows with 
great beauty and majesty past the high walls of this capital, 
which contains 15,000 people, "the cleverest and most im- 
moral in all Africa," says Denham, and is situated in lat, 
11° 7' N. The river here is, however, only 400 yards broad; 
scarcely more than one-half the width, when the branches 
thrown off below are considered, that it is at Showey. 

In order to prove that a river of considerable magnitude 
must join the Shary from the eastward, and most probably 
below Kussery, let us attend to the following facts. At 
Showey, the Shary, after having thrown off three very con- 
siderable branches, was, in the main stream, still 650 yards 
broad in the dry season, and so deep as to require the canoes 
to be propelled by oars instead of poles. At the ford of the 
western branch of the Shary, at Maffetai, the water came up 
to the neck in crossing it, and more to the westward divergents 
of considerable depth were also crossed. At Kernuck, the 
capital of Loggun, the united stream of the Shary was only 
400 yards broad, the current about the same as it was at 
Showey, and though the depth at the former place is not 
stated, still there is the best reason to believe that it was not 
materially different. Denham, in his progress from Showey 
southward, passed at some distance westward from the Shary, 
until he came to Kussery, about twenty-five geographical miles 
above Loggun. He has not given us the magnitude of the 
■river at Kussery; otherwise we should have been enabled to 
judge whether the junction of any river from the eastward 
took place above Kussery or below it; but as he travelled 
from Kussery to Loggun, near the Shary, it is reasonable to 
suppose, that had any river joined it on the opposite side for 
that distance, he would have heard of it, and therefore it is 
probable, or indeed we may say certain, that the junction of 
the Bahr el Fittre, or the Bahr el Feydh, with the Shary, takes 
place below Kussery. In the Quarterly Review, No. 58, it is 



THE RIVER SHARY THE ASHOO. 



20 I 



stated, on the authority of accounts then received from Den- 
ham and Clapperton, after their arrival at Bornou, that in the 
African mode of expression, the Sharp sent off a branch, 
which falls into Lake Fittre, and again, specifically and plainly, 
that "the Shary was said to receive large supplies from Lake 
Fittre, twelve days' journey to the east of the mouths of the 
Shary." This gives the distance correctly, and proves the water 
communication alluded to. Edrisi also, (see Rennell's map 
and dissertation in Park's Travels) particularly mentions the 
communication between the rivers in this part of Africa, as we 
shall afterwards have occasion to advert to. 

Denham gives us no idea of its depth at Loggun, but states 
that the current was two miles and a half per hour, and that it 
came from the S.W., and that above Loggun it received a 
large branch, which came from the mountainous countries 
situated to the S.E. Sultan Bello's geographical memoir calls 
the branch alluded to above Loggun, an extensive fresh-water 
sea or river, named. " Asoor or Ashoo," and that it lies between 
Lughwi and Bagherme. Clapperton, in his second journey, 
obtained further information about this river, from a traveller 
who had passed that way to Senaar, in his pilgrimage to 
Mecca. The route he gave was from Kano to Adamowa, 
then to Bagherme, then to Runza (perhaps the country of 
Runga or Roogha, of Sultan Bello, which lies between 
Baghermi and Waddai, and which is stony, but abounding 
with rivers — the people infidels), then Raffins, then Darfur, 
and then Kordofan. The river Ashoo, he states, joins the 
Shary above Loggun — it comes from the S.E., through the 
country of Bagherme. Till joined by this river, the Shary is 
fordable, and the Ashoo, he states, is the only river in the route 
not fordable during the summer, between the Quorra and the 
Bahr el Azreek. This river comes certainly from the N.W. 
corner of what is called the Mountains of the Moon. The 
pilgrims who come from Dar Saley to Senaar, and other places 
eastward, on their route to Mecca, state that the Bahr el Abiad 
comes from a country called Bahr el Lessee, from which 
country the waters on the other side of the hills at its source flow 
in the direction of Marok or Marocco. The direction, therefore, 
given to this branch in the map, cannot be materially wrong. 



202 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



The confusion with regard to the positions of the countries 
to the north-eastward, to the eastward, and to the south-east- 
ward of Lake Shad, and the rivers which are found in the 
latter, is very great ; but part of the confusion alluded to arises 
from the errors in the bearings given, and a want of a strict 
attention to these, and to the details of these matters, as given 
to us by different authorities. Much, if not the whole of the 
mass of confusion in which this portion of Africa has hitherto 
been presented to us, may be unravelled by patience and 
labour. To elucidate it, however, in the clearest and most 
correct manner possible, it is necessary to commence the inves- 
tigation from Mourzook, the capital of Fezzan, a position which 
has been correctly ascertained. This city is situated in 25° 
54' N. lat., and 15° 50' E. long. From hence, the journey 
across the desert to Kouka, the capital of Bornou, is a journey 
of from forty-two to forty-five days. There are a few facts and 
points connected with places in this desert, which are of con- 
siderable importance in the inquiry at present in hand. Accord- 
ing to Denham's narrative, at Karsowa, a town about fifteen 
miles to the north of Teggery, or Tegerby, the road branches 
off for Waday and Kanem, in a direction of S.E. ; the separa- 
tion of this road is in 24° 24' N. lat. Denham states that this 
road, according to his informants, was the nearest route to 
Bornou, but that the reason why it was not generally taken, 
was because it was more destitute of water than the one to the 
westward, by which he travelled. Between Omah and Mesh- 
roo, in about 24° N. lat., he says that he saw Alowere Seghria, 
a range of hills bearing E. by S. Alowere el Kabir, a still 
higher ridge, lay more to the east, but was not visible. The 
latter are the highest mountains in the Tibboo country, except 
Escherdat Erner. The road to Kanem from Mourzook lay 
through the Alowere range. From this point, viz., near the 
parallel of 24°, the country to the south is very mountainous, 
and more to the south the inhabitants are called Tibboo Irchad, 
or Tibboo of the rock. Two days' journey beyond Meshroo, 
in about 23° N. lat., is the Hermat-el-wahr range of hills, the 
highest seen from the time of leaving Mourzook. The highest 
peak rose about 600 feet, and formed part of a ridge which 
stretches away eastward to Tibeste, or Tiberts, where the hills 



MOURZOOK DESERT — TIBESTE. 



203 



are still higher and bolder. Six days' journey farther south, 
Denham came to Yaat, or Izhya, in about 20° 45' N. lat., to 
the east of which was a plain extending as far as the eye could 
reach, and to the west the high circular range of Tiggeren- 
duma, stretching westward five days' journey. Lyon, in the 
route given him from Tegerry to the Tibboo of Borgoo, gives, 
first, six and a half days' journey south, and then four days 
S.E. to Abo or Aboo, a well in the country of Tibeste. Buck- 
hardt, in a very accurate itinerary which was given him of the 
road from Waday to Mourzook, has this well in the very same 
position, counting the journeys from south to north ; and he more- 
over states that it is in the district of Tiberts, and on the north 
side of the great ranges of mountains which extend thence to 
Dirky on the south, and denominated by him the Dirk) ranges. 
The well Abo lies in about 22° N. lat. Twelve days' journey to 
the southward of it, the traveller crosses the mountains called 
Hedjir-es-soud, or the Black Rocks, so called from their colour, 
and which are part of the Dirky range. At the entrance of the 
Hedjir-es-soud, is the well called Byr-el-Assoad, where the 
caravans rest a few days. This ridge will lie in about 19° 30' 
N. lat. To the eastward, and betwixt the parallels of 19° and 
22°, the country, as we learn from Lyon and others, is ex- 
ceedingly mountainous, and of volcanic origin. Lyon's in- 
formants told him that " in Tibesty, there is a large spring of 
hot water, which appears to boil as over a fire. The soil on 
which this spring is situated is composed entirely of sulphur, 
in many places quite pure." The taste is acid. The inhabitants 
use it medicinally ; and people come from other countries to 
use it for the same purpose. The country, in these parts also, 
we learn, is by no means a barren waste ; for we are told, that 
the inhabitants have a great number of camels, sheep, goats, 
and cattle, and that dates are so abundant that considerable 
armies might be supplied with them. In fact, from these, their 
ruthless invaders and destroyers from Fezzan draw their 
supplies, during their destructive inroads, and also for their 
journey homewards through their own barren wastes. The 
vales are fertile in corn, and its mountains afford excellent 
pasturage, and abound with innumerable springs. It is in this 
part of Africa, be it observed, a short distance to the eastward 



204 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



of Izhyat, that Ptolemy places his Mount Girgires and the 
springs of the two branches of the river Cinips, in 21° N.lat., 
which range of mountains corresponds exactly with the ranges 
of mountains which are found in the country of Tibesty, 
and the Tibboo of Borgoo, or the Tibboo of the rocks. 

The country in this part of Africa, to the southward of 
Ghatrone, and about Tegerby, is unquestionably very elevated. 
Denham, during the early part of December, felt the cold very 
severe in passing through these districts. One day's journey 
south of Izhya, Denham states, <6 January 31st, cold shivering 
morning, thermometer, 49°;" and one day's journey south of 
Anay, the thermometer, at 7 a.m , was down to 42° ; but Lyon 
gives us a more definite notion of its severity. A little to 
the north of Wudakaire, in about 24° N. lat, and on the 14th 
of January, he states thus (p. 256) : — " Thermometer, 2° 30' 
below zero, — water which we had left in a bowl over-night, 
became ice of the thickness of half an inch, and the gerbas 
(water skins) were so completely frozen up at the necks, that 
we were obliged to melt them over a fire." The Negro slaves, 
fresh from Soudan, suffered severely from this degree of cold, 
as they were without clothing, and obliged to sleep in the open 
air without any covering. This degree of cold, though in the 
middle of winter, certainly almost under the tropic, could not 
be felt but in a country, the elevation of which above the level 
of the sea must be considerable ; and it is much to be 
regretted that we have not a scientific estimate of what that 
elevation is.* The degree of cold felt in this place will also 
help to account for the frost which Denham met with in the 
Bede country, in the parallel of 13° N., very nearly in the 
same season of the year (December), at which time, he states, 
the wind was a little to the eastward of north. 

From Yaat, or Izhyat, Denham and his party proceeded to 
Bilma, situated in about 18° 40' N. lat, the capital of the 

* Doubtless the adjoining country, and the country to the north, so strongly, 
so deeply, and widely impregnated with saline particles as it is, would tend 
greatly to increase the degree of cold felt at this place ; but still, after making 
every allowance on this account, the degree of cold thus felt, almost under the 
Tropic of Cancer, and so near the burning deserts of "Africa, would argue a 
country very elevated. 



SALT LAKES — DOMBOO — BILMA. 



205 



Tibboo, and a place of considerable importance, in the great 
road from Bornou to Mourzook. For a small space around it 
there is a little vegetation, and some springs of good water. 
Around it, to the S.W., the W., and the N.W., at a distance 
of a few miles, are, says Denham, "several lakes, in which are 
great quantities of very pure crystallized salt : some was brought 
to us for sale, in baskets, beautifully white, and of an excellent 
flavour. The time for gathering the salt was at the end of the 
dry season, when it was taken in large masses from the borders 
of the lake. This transparent kind they put into bags, and 
send it to Bornou and Soudan ; a coarser salt is also formed 
into hard pillars, and for which a ready market is found. In 
Soudan, a single pillar, weighing eleven pounds, brings four 
or five dollars. The Twaricks supply themselves with salt 
entirely from the Wadeys of the Tibboos. Twenty thousand 
bags of salt were said to have been carried off during the last 
year by the Twaricks alone." The inhabitants of Kashna and 
Agadez are said to have employed a thousand camels in this 
trade. The Twaricks inhabit the whole of the Great Desert, 
from the meridian of Mourzook westward to the meridian of 
Lake Dibbie. 

The lakes here mentioned, and this place, are, no doubt, the 
salt lake of Domboo mentioned by Rennell and other geo- 
graphers. The distance, viz., forty days' journey N.E. from 
Kashna, corresponds exactly. The district of Africa also, in 
which Bilma is situated, is, we learn from Lyon, called Kowar 
or Kour ; in fact, Kowar and Bilma are the same place ; and 
we learn from the early Arabian geographers, that Kawar or 
Kour bounded the land of Kanem to the north. 

South from Bilma, the country for the space of seven days' 
journey is a complete desert, and scarcely anything is to be 
seen but moving billows of burning sands. Immediately 
beyond this point, the country for a day's journey assumes the 
appearance of the heaths in England, with plenty of cattle ; 
and three days' farther south, the travellers came to Kanemani, 
where the country, even at that time (January 31st), was found 
to be verdant, and covered with flowery grasses ; and during 
the next day's journey, they travelled through herbage re- 
sembling wild corn, which came up to the horses' knees. 



206 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Kanemani is about sixty-two miles to the north of Lari, which 
town is situated on the N.W. borders of Lake Shad, in 
14° 14' N. lat., in the country of Kanera. To the north and 
to the N.E , the country is inhabited by different tribes of 
Tibboos. 

The next point of importance, and it is one of great im- 
portance, concerning the geography of this part of Africa to 
consider, is the position of the land of Kanem. The following 
authorities will enable us to do this with considerable accuracy. 
Lyon (p. 123) pointedly informs us, that Kanem is the northern 
boundary of Bornou; and at p. 129, he further clearly es- 
tablishes the position of the S.W. part of this country. In 
one of the inroads made into this country by Mukni, the 
merciless ruler of Fezzan, Lyon states, that " he made an 
attack on the defenceless people of Kanem, Moslem as well as 
Kaffir, and having first burnt their town, pursued them to the 
banks of the river (Yaoo) ; many were drowned in attempting 
to cross it, others were taken out of the water, and the women 
and children who had not the power of escaping were caught 
on the banks ; the number of captives made on that day 
amounting to 1800." " The Shiekh of Kanem, whom I have 
already mentioned, was fortunate enough, on this dreadful 
occasion, to escape to Birnie, many of his family having fallen 
sacrifices to Mukni's barbarity." Denham confirms the account 
given of this part of Kanem. At p. 283, he mentions, when 
on his return to the north, that five considerable Kanemboo 
villages, viz. Ittagoni, Betagana, Asaden, Yeouganee, and 
Boro, were on the banks of the Yeou. At pp. 284, 289, he 
mentions that Barka-Gana, who had gone on an expedition to 
the N.E. shores of Lake Shad beyond Tangalia, had been 
worsted in that expedition, and compelled to return home 
through Kanem ; and as he further states, down on Kanem to 
Woodie, &c, for supplies, at which town he met him. Again, 
he states (p. 288), that the country of Kanem is in a most 
wretched state, and that the population thereof depends alter- 
nately for protection from the sovereigns of Bornou and 
Waday ; but that the protection afforded by either party is not 
effectual ; while self-interest makes each of the powers long 
to annex it to their own dominions. It is accordingly subjected 



KAN EM. 



207 



to perpetual and destructive inroads by the Arabs from Fezzan, 
who every year desolate a large portion of the country, and 
carry away thousands of the helpless inhabitants into a state 
of slavery. In another place also, wherein he describes his 
expedition to the eastern shores of Lake Shad, he gives an 
account of another expedition which had been sent by the 
Sheikh of Bornou against Mendoo and Maoo, the capital of 
Kanem, on the N.E. shores of Lake Shad; the latter town 
about fifty miles from Tangalia. Also, he further states, of 
his penetrating from Lari eastward along the lake through 
Kanemboo villages ; and that on his arrival at Lari from 
Mourzook, some slaves who had been liberated at the latter 
place, and who belonged to Kanem, went eastward from Lari 
to their native place. Sheeref Inhammed, a very great traveller 
in the interior of Africa, also places the country of Kanem 
north of Bornou, and on the road to Mourzook. 

Kanem was formerly a very extensive and very powerful 
country; though now broken to pieces and reduced to the most 
wretched state. The old Egyptian historian, Makrisi, gives us 
the following account of this country: — "On the borders of 
the Nile, lies also Kanem, the king of which is a Mahommedan. 
It is at a very great distance from the country of Maly. The 
residence of the king is in the town called Heymy. The first 
town, on the side towards Egypt, is called Zela (Zeilah in 
Fezzan, 26° II' 48" N. lat., and 16° 42' E. long.), and the last, 
reckoning lengthways, is called Kaka, about three months' jour- 
ney distant from the other. The people of this country go veiled 
(that is, as the original means, they cover their faces with a 
handkerchief) ; their king is hidden behind curtains, and sees 
nobody, except on the two feast-days, in the morning, at the 
time of the Aszeer. During the whole of the year, nobody 
speaks to him, except behind the curtain. Their main food is 
rice, which grows there without being sown ; they have wheat, 
dhourra, figs, lemons, badenjons, turnips, and dates. Their 
currency is cotton-stuffs, woven in the country, and called 
Dandy, or Wandy : every piece is ten peeks in length ; and 
they make purchases with pieces of it of one quarter and 
more. They use also as a currency, shells (i.e. cowries), 
glass beads, broken copper, all of which have their fixed value 



208 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



in the cotton stuffs. To the south of them are forests and 
deserts, inhabited by wild creatures." . . . . " The gourds grow 
to a large size : they make ships of them, upon which they 
cross the Nile." The inhabitants "are of the sect of the Imam 
Malek Ibn Anes. It is said they are descended from the 
Berbers." The description, thus given by Makrisi, of Kanem 
in the early days of its renown, corresponds in every respect 
with the present state of the country, and the customs of the 
population round the shores of Lake Shad. The produce 
of the country, especially rice, the customs adhered to by 
the sovereigns of Bornou and their people, and the currency 
in the country, are, as we learn from both Lyon and Den ham 
and others, the exact state of things in Bornou at this 
day. And a last and perhaps the strongest proof of the 
whole, regarding the position of Kanem and the identity of 
these countries, is that stated by Burkhardt, viz. that the 
religion of the people of Kanem, on the east shores of the lake 
Shad, is of the " sect of Imam Malek Ibn Anes;" which Ibn 
al Vardi, the old Arabian geographer or historiographer, also 
states, thus : — " Konem, or Kanem, is a large country situated 
along the Nile : the inhabitants were all Mussulmen, of the sect 
of Imam Malek." Edrisi states, that Kanem was a large 
district ; and adds, f< some Negroes stated, that Kaugha (the 
Kaka mentioned by Makrisi, for the word is the same) was sub- 
ject to it." Abulfeda, on the authority of Ibn Said, says of this 
place, — " Kawkaw is the residence of the Sultan of these parts, 
and that he is an infidel. Opposite to him, on the west, are the 
Moslems of Ghana, and on the east, those of El Kanem. This 
place has a river named after itself, but the place is to the east- 
ward of this its river. It is said in the Kanun, that Kawkaw 
is situated between the equinoctial line and the beginning of 
the first climate. It is said in the Azzizi, that Kawkaw is in 
the latitude of \0°, and that its inhabitants are Moslems." 

There can be no longer any doubt, therefore, about the position 
of Kanem, It formerly comprehended all the country from 
Zeilah in the north 9 to Bagherme on the south, and from a 
portion of the country west of Lake Shad on the west, to the 
borders of Dongola on the east; and included the whole country 
then known under the name of Kawar, or Kounr, or the modern 



LAKE SHAD, OR ZAD. 



209 



country of Bilma and the Tibboos, which country of Kour or 
Kawar, the early Arabian geographers state was bounded north 
by the Desert, which separated Egypt from Fezzan, adding, 
that the country mentioned, extended eastward to Al Wahat. 
In its reduced state, the land of Kanem will extend from the 
borders of the Bahr el Ghazelle on the east, around the northern 
shores of Lake Shad, to near Gambarou, on the west, and 
stretching north from the lake to about the parallel of 16° N. 
lat. Kaugha or Kawkaw, which was said to be formerly sub- 
ject to Kanem, we readily recognise in Caugha or Kooka, to 
the southward and eastward of Lake Fittre. 

With regard to Lake Shad itself, the extent of it, as given 
by Sheikh el Kanemy, viz. twenty days' journey in circum- 
ference, or 300 miles, is certainly the most correct. The extent 
given to it by the constructor of the map with Denham's work, 
considerably exceeds that given to it by Denham himself. 
From Kooka to Angernou, he gives one day's journey south ; 
Angernou to Angala, two days' journey S.E.; Angala to 
Showey one day's journey east ; Showey to the ford over 
the Shary, one day's journey S.E. From the Shary to 
Tangalia he gives the distance travelled east, about fifty-two 
miles. From Tangalia to Woodie, by Lari, he states the 
distance to be eight days' journey, and from Woodie to Kouka, 
the distance, according to him and to other authorities, is four 
days' journey. These distances taken together, would, even 
including the turnings and windings of those to the south, give 
just twenty days' journey as the circumference of the lake, which 
Sheikh el Kanemy states it to be, say 300 geographical miles ; 
whereas, the circumference of the lake in the map alluded to 
is rather more than seven degrees, or, in the general bearings, 
about 430 miles. The lake is clearly extended nearly a degree 
too much to the east, and the course of the river Shary, very 
nearly as much too far in an easterly direction. Its course to 
the lake will thus be confined to within the meridian of 16° E. 
long., and which other facts, about to be stated, go to establish : 
or rather, as it should be stated, while the course of the Shary 
is more direct from the south, the point of its entering the 
lake, and the centre of the lake itself, should be removed one 
degree more to the eastward. Bornou, whether Kouka, the 

p 



210 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



present, or New Birnie, the late capital, is due south from 
Eezzan and Tegerby ; both Lyon and others distinctly state this. 
The former, in particular, gives the route from Tegerby to 
Kanem twenty days' journey south by east, and fifteen days' 
journey from Kanem to Bornou south by west. This most 
clearly places Bornou a little to the eastward of Tegerby, and 
Kouka, the capital, at least a degree more to the eastwardUhan 
the point where it has been hitherto placed. Denham and his 
party most certainly travelled to the eastward of south in all 
the southern part of their journey. The distances given to 
the districts of Tibeste, some tribes of the Tibboo, and more 
especially of the road from Mourzook to Waday, clearly 
establish this. Where that road leaves the path by which 
they travelled to Bornou in a S.E. direction, they distinctly 
state, that it was the nearest and the shortest road to Bornou. 
Taking the whole of these facts into consideration, Kouka and 
Lake Shad have hitherto been placed at least one degree too 
much to the west, and removing them, as they ought to be, 
one degree more to the east, will correspond very exactly 
indeed with the distances which Clapperton travelled south- 
ward from Mourzook to Bornou, westward from Kouka, by 
Kano, to Saccatoo and to the Niger; and, moreover, to the 
longitudes where Ptolemy places both his Lybian Lake and 
his Lake Nuba, and also with all the distances which are 
given regarding the extent and the positions of the countries 
from the Shary eastward to the Nile. 

The elevation of Lake Tschad above the level of the sea is 
differently estimated ; from the observations by Clapperton, it 
is calculated to be about 1300 feet. A French writer reduces 
it to about 900. Looking, however, carefully at every circum- 
stance connected with it, the very high lands which the degree 
of cold felt in the countries to the north, to the west, and to the 
south, give us to see exist in that part of Africa, the elevation 
must be a great deal more than even the highest of the estimates 
given. The country all around, more especially to the south 
and to the east, is evidently a very singular country. The soil 
around it, to a great distance, is all alluvial, and to the east- 
ward, and to the S.E., and to the N.E., the country is not 
only alluvial and level, but the beds of what have formerly 



H A G H ERM E LU Q II WI. 



been large rivers are in more than one place found, and also 
other considerable lakes are found in these places. Some of 
these are probably the remains of mighty rivers which are 
formed during the tropical rains, the deep pools of which, 
(when these streams in the middle and lower portion of their 
courses are dried up, and thus cut off in the dry season,) 
remain as lakes, and continue full throughout the dry season, 
as Burkhardt distinctly informs us are the facts. 

The next points to consider are, the positions of the countries 
called Bagherme, the Bahr el Grhazelle, Dar Saley, or, as the 
latter is also called, Waday and Bergoo, with the other countries 
to the eastward of them, together with the rivers which are 
found to ^flow through them. First, as regards Bagherme, 
Sultan Bello informs us that next, and east to Adamowa, is 
the province Lughwi or Loggun, and that from this country 
to the territory of Bagherme is two days' journey " through 
mountains and rivers." Mr. Beaufoy states that Bagherme 
lies twenty days' journey S.E. of Bornou, meaning, of course, 
this distance from Old Birnie, the former capital. Denham 
pointedly states 'that Bagherme lies to the south of Bornou, 
and that the river Shary divides Bornou from that kingdom ; 
the province of Loggun on the Shary thus bounding Bagherme 
on the S.W., and Bornou on the S.E., to which latter empire, 
however, Loggun belongs. The territory of Bornou, he states, 
stretches south to the parallel of 10° N. and E. to the Shary, 
and even, as he states, to 18° E. long., but which of course 
must be wrong, as that will extend beyond the Shary. Lyon 
also informs us that Bornou is bounded on the east by 
Bagherme, and that from New Birnie to Bagherme is ten long- 
days' journey S.E. ; Loggun, which belongs to Bornou, being 
just half way^ betwixt the two points. Denham gives the 
distance to Loggun as nearly, or it may be said exactly the 
same. Bowditch mentions, that the capital of Bagherme is five 
days to the east of the Shary ; and Browne gives the extent 
of the kingdom of Bagherme to be twelve days from east to 
west, and fifteen days' journey from north to south. Sultan 
Bello gives the former distance ten days' journey, and the 
latter as being greater than that. The information which 
Dupuis received was to the effect that Bagherme, Dar Saley, 

p 2 



212 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



and Darfur lay east, and in rotation from Bornou, and that 
Bagherme was twenty days to the east of Bornou, the distance 
psobabiy being taken from Old Birnie in place of New Birnie. 
To the south of Bagherme the country is mountainous, and 
inhabited by Pagans, into which, particularly Battah and 
Mulqui, (Mosgou,) the people of Bagherme make frequent 
inroads, in order to procure slaves. Denham heard that a 
branch of the Shary came from the eastward amongst these 
mountains. Mesna was the former capital of Bagherme, but 
Denham mentions Kernuk as the capital, which having been 
destroyed by the forces of Bornou, the Sultan, at the time he 
was at Bornou, was proposing to build it again. From 
Buckhardt we learn that the three Arab tribes which dwell in 
the principal districts of Katakou, and which seem to compre- 
hend the eastern frontier of Bornou, are Beni Hassan, &c. 
in the districts of Dar Mandara ; Dar Makkary, and Dar An- 
kala or Angala, Dar Afady, and Dar Kolfey, the Gulphy of 
Denham. The tribe of Beni Hassan also inhabit a part of the 
Bahr el Ghazelle. Browne informs us that, from the capital 
of Bagherme to Kattacum or Kattakou, the bearing is N. 
J W., and, from Kattakou to the capital of Bornou, the bearing 
is the* same, and that the total distance is eighteen days' 
journey ; and to show further the southern position of Bag- 
herme, Clapperton's informants, who gave him the route from 
Kano to Senaar, by the Bahr el Abiad, enumerates the 
states thus : from Kano, first, Adamowa ; second, Bagherme ; 
third, Runza ; fourth, Raffins ; fifth, Darfur ; sixth, Kor- 
dofan. Cotton is produced in Bagherme in great abundance, 
and large quantities of cloth are manufactured from it by the 
women, both for home consumption and for exportation. It 
is engaged in perpetual wars with its neighbours, and was some 
time ago overrun and conquered by its powerful eastern neigh- 
bour of Waday. 

The position and extent of Bagherme, therefore, is thus dis- 
tinctly ascertained, viz : to the east of Bornou and the Shary, 
and considerably to the south of Lake Shad. The next 
place to consider, is the celebrated district called Bahr el 
Ghazelle. According to Burkhardt, this district bears from 
Bornou in the direction of the Kebly " Mecca". Lyon is 



THE BAHR EL GIIAZELLE. 



213 



most specific: the south part of it, he says, bears E.N.E. 
distant ten days' journey from New Birnie, Bornou ; and he 
adds, it "runs N.E. and S.W. to a great distance." The 
bearing given by Lyon is exactly the same as that given by 
Burkhardt, and brings us to the S.E. corner of Lake Shad, 
nearly, but to the north of Tangalia. Near this place, Denham 
informs us that the army of Sheikh Kanemy met their allies, 
the Shouaas, of the tribe Dugganah, under their chieftain Tahir. 
This tribe, we learn from Burkhardt, the Dugganah or Degga- 
nah, dwell in the Bahr el Ghazelle, in that portion thereof 
which is nearest to the land of Kanem ; and he also states, that 
it is in the country inhabited by this tribe that the fresh water 
lake named Hadeba, ten days' journey from Fittre and eight 
from Kanem, is situated. Burkhardt mentions a curious fact 
with regard to the Arabs of the tribe of Beni Hassan, who 
dwell in the Bahr el Ghazelle, and more to the south, namely, 
that, when they pray, they turn their faces to Dar Saley, which 
points out that the latter country lies from them in the same 
bearing as Mecca. The population of the Bahr el Ghazelle, 
says Burkhardt, retire in the dry season towards the limits of 
Kattakou, Bagherme, and Dar Saley, and that they intermarry 
with the people of these countries. The Bahr el Ghazelle is 
ah immense wadey or valley, full of trees, and having many 
inhabitants, who are wanderers ; a considerable portion of them 
are pagans. The people are a fine race, well made, and very 
active. The general dress is leather. The cattle are in such 
numbers, that parts of the country appear literally covered 
with them ; there are also vast numbers of camels, and large 
herds of sheep. Elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, buffaloes, 
and cameleopards, are also very numerous. Elephants' teeth 
are found in great numbers, without any to carry them 
away. Rice grows wild. All accounts agree, that in ancient 
times there was a river of great magnitude which flowed through 
it. It is a great extent of low grounds thickly covered with 
trees, and inhabited by pastoral Arabs and negro tribes. 
Immense bones of unknown animals and fish are frequently 
found here in a state of petrifaction. By the description 
which the natives give of the bones and vertebrae, some of 
the fish must have been ten or twelve feet in length. Five 



214 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



days' journey N.W. lays another great wacley or valley, called 
Bahr Battali, in every respect the same as the Bahr el Ghazelle. 
Some state that it is part of the Bahr el Ghazelle : they may 
"certainly be reckoned districts in every part of a similar de- 
scription. It is also asserted to have been formerly the bed of a 
great river, and petrified bones are stated to have been found 
in it. Burkhardt, in the itinerary which he gives from Dar 
Saley to Mourzook states, that at fourteen days' journey from 
the former country, the traveller comes to a place called 
Bahr, a low ground, where, by digging pits in the sand, good 
water is found in great plenty ; it is called Bahr, because in the 
rainy season the ground is overflowed. The position of this 
place will agree with the position of the Bahr Battali, and the 
latter is probably a continuation of the former, both being 
either the bed of a rainy-season stream, or else the former bed 
of a river issuing from a lake formed by some rivers to the 
eastward. Still farther to the N.E., and placed as correctly as 
the bearing and distance given will enable us, is the consider- 
able fresh-water lake called Boushashem, which is said to 
overflow its banks much during the rains. 

Between Kanem and the Shary is the district called Dar 
Karka, which district, says Buckhardt, forms no part of the 
Bahr el Ghazelle, and is inhabited by the Bedouins named 
Kory. These people pasture their cattle on the banks of a 
large river called Bahr el Feydh, or inundating river, from its 
periodical risings, and which river empties itself into the 
Shary. The district of country here mentioned, appears to be 
that situated on the S.E. shores of Lake Shad, and betwixt 
it and the kingdom of Bagherme. The position of both it and 
the Bahr el Ghazelle is thus clearly and satisfactorily ascer- 
tained ; the Bahr el Ghazelle stretching from the eastern shores 
of Lake Shad, north-eastward to the territory of Dar Saley, 
and more northward to the lakes Bahr Ma Halou, &c. &c. 
and south-westward from the land of Kanem to the borders of 
the Kory, who dwell next to Bagherme, which latter country, 
or rather the N.E. quarter thereof, Buckhardt informs us is 
four or five days distant from the Bahr el Ghazelle. 
• Lyon in his travels, (p. 266,) gives a singular account of two 
countries or districts in eastern Africa, which he calls Wajunga. 



WAJUNGA — TIBESTE. 



215 



He states that they are ten days' journey to the north of 
Waday, and to the east and to the south of the Tibboo of 
Borgoo. That Kanem lies twelve days S.W. of Borgoo ; 
the Bahr el Ghazelle five days south, and Waday fourteen 
days SS.E. This district of Wajunga, he states, " has two 
large towns or districts one day E. and W. of each other. 
The eastern one has a very large river running N. and S. 
through it, 500 or 600 yards in breadth, and of great depth. 
The water is brackish, and in it are abundance of very fine 
fish. The whole of this country is very mountainous, having 
large rocky tracks of perfectly black stone." " Some of the 
rocks here, as well as in Borgoo, are so perpendicular and 
high, that, to use an Arab expression, you could not see their 
tops without losing your tagaia or red cap. The western 
Wajunga has three rivers running through it, two of which are 
sweet as honey, and one salt. The largest, which the Arabs 
say is the Nile, is of great breadth, and very deep, and runs 
from west to east. Dates are very plentiful here, and the cattle 
very numerous. There are also elephants in this country, 
and multitudes of ostriches. The people of both sexes are 
clothed in skins; some, however, wear a curious leather gown. 
They are a fine race of people, and are swift runners, but the 
Arabs consider them in the light of Caffirs, asserting that they 
were not made by God, but that they came by chance." 

This account given by Lyon opens up an almost new and 
very remarkable feature in African geography. If it is correct, 
the country and rivers which he mentions will lie in about 
16° to 17° of N. lat., and 21° to 22° E. long. The country of 
the Tibboo of Borgoo, lies one month's journey in a bearing 
about S.E. from Mourzook. From Borgoo to Waday he 
gives fourteen days' journey SS.E. From the Borgoo of 
Yen he gives nine and a half days' journey to Werda, but 
without the bearing, but that bearing was probably south ; 
which, taken together with some allowance for the extent of 
the country of Wajunga, or considering the distance from Wa- 
junga to Werda to be only to the confines of the latter country, 
would certainly make up the distance on the different bearings, 
between Mourzook and Werda. But how shall we then 
account for so many and such large rivers in this portion of 



216 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Africa, and the almost total silence of writers and travellers 
about them? A river 1800 feet broad, in eastern Wajunga, 
and running from N. to S., must have had its sources at a 
great distance to the north, even considerably into the interior 
of the range Girgires of Ptolemy. The country which pro- 
duces such a stream, and the tributaries which it must ne- 
cessarily receive, must, as a matter of course, be fertile, and 
if so, then surely, through this country would have been the 
nearest and best road from Waday and Bornou to Egypt. The 
distance from one cultivated country to the other could not 
be above 600 miles, yet there is no account of any caravans 
passing by such a route. Both Lyon and Burkhardt were 
very explicitly informed, that, betwixt Mourzook and Waday, 
the traveller did not pass a single river, although there were 
abundance of excellent wells, which afford very good water. 
From Dirky to Abo, a distance of 400 miles, the country is 
certainly exceedingly mountainous, and to the eastward of that 
line of road still more so, while the great quantity of dates which 
the country of the Tibboo of Borgoo produces, and the great 
number of sheep, goats, and cattle, which the natives possess, 
show that, although the country is mountainous and bare, yet, 
that it is not altogether barren. Still, had the southern part 
thereof given rise to such rivers as Lyon mentions, the pro- 
bability is, that they would have been more and better known. 

Ptolemy no doubt lays down his river Cinips as issuing from 
Mount Girgires, and running in a direction directly opposite 
to the greatest river of Wajunga, and when his longitudes are 
corrected in the same meridians, or very nearly so. He makes 
the sources of the Cinips to spring in Mount Girgires in lat. 
21° 30' N., the eastern branch in 45°, the western in 40° E. long, 
from Ferro, and to unite in 25° N. lat. and 42° E. long, from 
the point just mentioned. 

Having thus examined the positions of the countries situated 
to the eastward of Lake Shad, let us next attend, as far as 
the information in our possession will enable us, to the positions 
of the rivers which run through them. We have already con- 
sidered the Shary and its tributaries. That branch, which is 
represented as coming from the eastward through a mountain- 
ous country, which is situated to the south of Bagherme, will 



ASOO — THE GIR. 



217 



fall in with the Junchor of Rennell's map. Denham's inform- 
ation on this point is very specific ; and beyond this large river 
to the south of Bagherme is a pagan country, represented to 
be very populous. Denham adds, that the Shary was stated 
to come from a Kirdy country, called Bosso. Clapperton's 
informant told him that the river Asoo came from the S.E., 
through Bagherme, and fell into the Shary above Loggun. 
Lyon states, that a large river runs through Bagherme called 
Kamadakoo, and that to the eastward of Bagherme there is 
another large river, from which fish are taken and carried to 
the Wara market. Denham clearly intimates that there is a 
river to the eastward of Loggun, which runs through Bag- 
herme, for just as he had begun to explore the river above 
Kernuck, he was compelled to desist and to fly from Loggun, 
because " the Baghermies were again on the Medba, and 
coming towards Loggun." This river will answer to the 
Terruge of Rennell's map. Regarding the Shary itself, 
Denham found its course to be from S. to N. Burkhardt's 
informants gave him the geographical line of the river for the 
current of the stream, viz, from N.E. to S.W., although one 
informant, who was the most correct, gave the course of the 
stream to be from S.W. to N.E. Lyon was also told that the 
Shary ran from S.W. to N.E., and that the natives around 
it said the river ran past Fur. Browne's informants stated, 
that on the road from Bagherme to Bornou, two rivers are 
crossed by travellers, one of which is called Kitchena, which 
runs from S.W. to N.E. ; in this we recognise the Shary: 
and the other river must be the Gambularam, or more pro- 
bably the Bahr el Feydh. 

Buckhardt gives us the name and the source of the Gir or 
Om Teymam, the same as the Bahr Misselad of Browne. 
Browne informs us that the Bahr Misselad is crossed three 
days' journey west of Wara ; and he further states that the town 
or village of Batta, two and a quarter days' journey west from 
Wara, is situated on a small river which flows from the south, 
and then turns west and falls into the Bahr el Fittre. Batta 
belongs to the country of Dar Misselad. In the small river 
here mentioned, we readily find a stream formed by the Ouled 
Rashed and the Abou Redjeyle of Buckhardt, small streams 



218 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



which he states are found from Wara eastward on the route 
(evidently a southern route) to Darfur ; the other river which 
he mentions, the Om Ettymam, being clearly a different river 
from his Om Teymam, or Gir, which he informs us is the prin- 
cipal river that runs near the western boundaries of Darfur. 
The three rivers just mentioned, having formed a junction, pursue 
their course westward, by Batta, to the Bahr el Fittre, where 
at the point alluded to there is said to be a lake of some mag- 
nitude, variously reported to be four or more days' journey in 
circumference. Tahir, the Degganah chief, who was born on 
its banks, pointedly stated that a river entered the lake from the 
S.W. or by the customary African mode of expression, that a 
river flowed from the lake in the direction mentioned ; for that 
such was his meaning is clear, when he stated that Lake Fittre 
and Lake Shad were different, because the former had an 
outlet, whereas the other had none. A water communication 
from this lake unto a lake or river considerably to the westward 
was said by Edrisi to exist, and, is marked by Rennell in his 
map accordingly. There can be no doubt that this river is 
the Bahr el Feydh, or inundating river of Buckhardt, which he 
says empties itself into the Shary, and on the northern bank of 
which is the country called Dar Karka, where the Bedouin 
Arabs, called Kory, dwell between Bagherme and the Bahr el 
Ghazelle and Kanem. The junction of this river with the 
Shary accounts, as has been stated, for the lessened magnitude 
of that stream at Kernuck, compared to what it is at Showey, 
connected with its other branches. 

Sultan Bello and other authorities enable us clearly to know 
that Bagherme and the countries immediately adjoining it are 
intersected by many rivers. There is yet another to be noticed, 
an important point mentioned both by ancient and modern au- 
thority. This is the country, or district, or village, named Dar 
Kooka, or Kaugha. This place is eight and a half days' journey 
west of Wara, and according to Lyon, sixteen days' journey E. 
by S. of New Birnie in Bornou. Bowditch gives the distance 
from the boundary of Bornou to this place, which he names 
Caugha, to be fifteen days' journey ; and he gives the distance 
to Fittre to be the same, which is nearly correct, for Lyon gives 
it fifteen days easterly from New Birnie. From Kooka to 



K AUG II A — FITTRE. 



219 



Budagho, or the district of high mountains of black stone, is 
two days' journey west, and from Budagho or Mudagho to Lake 
Fittre is one and a half day's journey N.W. Burkhardt calls 
this place Kauka. Edrisi calls it Kaugha, and says that it is 
situated " on the north bank of the fresh water from which its 
inhabitants draw to drink. This city is subject to the empire 
of Vancara ; nevertheless some of the negroes reckon it under 
the dominion of Kanem. It is a populous city, without walls, 
famous for business, and useful arts for the advantage of its 
people." He adds that it is one and a half month's journey from 
Ghana, and one month's journey from Damocla, or the king- 
dom of OldDongola on the Egyptian Nile.* It is clear, then, 
that Kooka or Kaugha, (for the name has the same meaning,) is 
situated upon a river, which river must come from the south, 
and is probably the river running to the east of Bagherme, 
alluded to by Lyon. It will answer to the Miri, mentioned by 
Arabian travellers, and alluded to in Rennell's and other maps. 
This river will naturally join the Misselad or Gir, a little to the 
eastward of the Bahr el Fittre, and whether that be a river or a 
small lake is not of much consequence to the inquiry in hand. 
Browne states that " the people on the banks of the Bahr el 
Fittre are called Abu-Semmim, and are Mahommedans. They 
use little boats for the purpose of passing from one place to 
another on the river." Burkhardt gives the Arab tribes around 
Fittre to be the Belale, who inhabit nearest to the Bahr el 
Ghazelle, Djaathene, El Heleylat, and El Khozar. 

From Kanem to Fittre, according to Buckhardt, is a journey 
of eight days. From Tangalia, according to Tahir, to Fittre, 
is a journey of four days ; and from the Bahr el Ghazelle to 
Fittre, according to Burkhardt, is a journey of five days. The 
Degganah chief, already mentioned, states a curious and im- 
portant fact regarding the country to the S.E. of Tangalia. He 
informed Denham that, in travelling both to Fittre and to 
Waday, they passed over a " high country where there were but 
few wells," &c, on which account he was exceedingly anxious to 
purchase Denham's water-skins, being able to obtain none like 
them in that part of Africa. Ten days' journey frojn Fittre is 
a place named Mezrag, near which is a fresh-water lake, Bahr 

* See p. 208, for Ibn Said's particular description and position of this place. 



220 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

Ma Halou, two days' journey long and half a day's journey 
broad, in what is called Wady Hadeba, and represented to 
be always filled with water. The position of this lake we are 
enabled to ascertain with accuracy, because Buckhardt informs 
us that it is in the country occupied by the Arab tribes Dagganah, 
who inhabit the country in the Bahr el Ghazelle, close to 
Kanem. From the Bahr el Ghazelle to Bagherme, Burkhardt 
informs us that it is a journey of five days. 

There is another point and place in this quarter of Africa that 
requires to be noticed. This is the city of Kuku, mentioned by 
Edrisi. The passage we must take in his own words, according 
to the translation of the abridgment of his work, which only 
has reached Europe. " From Caugha to the city of Kuku, is 
twenty days' journey towards the north at the rate of the camel's 
travelling. The city Kuku is famous among the negroes for 
magnitude ; it is situated on the bank of a river, which, flowing 
from the north part, washes it, and affords drink to the in- 
habitants ; and although many negroes relate that the city Kuku 
is situated on the bank of the Nile, others place it near a river 
flowing into the Nile. It is, however, I apprehend, the true 
opinion, that this river glides along till it passes for many days 
beyond Kuku, and then pours itself out into the desert, through 
sands and plains, in the same manner as the river Euphrates 
doth in Mesopotamia." After giving a splendid account of the 
court and the power of the king, he says : " With respect to the 
clothing of this country, the common people cover their naked- 
ness with the skins of beasts, but the merchants clothe them- 
selves with vests and tunics, wear caps on their heads, and 
adorn themselves with gold, &c." 

If this account of Edrisi's could be relied on, and there seems 
no reason to doubt its general accuracy, we should have a clear 
solution of the rivers of Wajunga, mentioned by Lyon; for the 
distance which Edrisi gives between Caugha and Kuku, twenty 
days' journey N., would place the latter town in 17° N. lat., 
near the point where the town of eastern Wajunga, and the great 
river coming from the north, is stated to be. It is also curious, 
that when the great error in Ptolemy's longitude between the 
Canary Isles and Alexandria is corrected, that the sources of 
the rivers mentioned will be in the mountains of Tibeste. 



KUKU — BOUSHASEM. 



22] 



The information which D'Anville in his latter days received 
regarding the interior of Northern Africa is on all hands 
acknowledged to have been excellent. That celebrated geo- 
grapher had received information that a river ran in the Bahr 
el Ghazelle, or, as it is otherwise called, Wad, or Wady el 
Gliazelle — the Arabic word used to denote a'river — and joined 
the Nile, or the lake Zad during the inundation (Mem. Inscrip. 
vol. xxvi. p. 6). Nothing is more probable than this ; and, in 
fact, other accounts go to confirm it. All accounts agree in 
stating clearly, that large districts to the eastward of the lake 
are flooded during the rains ; but which are found in extensive 
cultivation during the dry season. The river, therefore, in the 
Bahr el Ghazelle is no doubt a continuation of the river of 
the Kuku of Edrisi, descending from Lake Boushashem, and 
that of Bahr Ma Halou. The fact that the beds of many 
rivers in Africa are dry during the dry season is well known. 
Take, for example, what Clapperton states regarding the 
Quarrama in that part of its course at and above Kutri; 
likewise, also, the small river near Timbuctoo. The course 
of the river also from the north or the north-west, as stated by 
Lyon's informants, is countenanced by the accounts received 
by Beaufoy, namely, that a branch of the Nile, erroneously 
called the Egyptian Nile, runs into the desert of Bilma, {African 
Association, 4to, p. 138;) and, at p. 142, he states, that the 
river of Bornou runs north-west into the desert of Bilma, 
though, it may be observed, that Lake Shad runs from 
Birnie in that direction, and may therefore really be the river 
alluded to by Beaufoy. The junction of a stream through 
the Bahr el Ghazelle with Lake Shad, or Zad, or Zadi, how- 
ever, is fully confirmed by the information and express statement 
made by Sheikh el Kanemy, in his letter to Denham, already 
alluded to, namely, that Lake Shad was joined by rivers 
flowing from " the right" (that is the south), <c and east of our 
country." Thus, the account of the celebrated French geo- 
grapher and others, previously doubted and lately set aside, is 
amply and satisfactorily confirmed ; as is also the report given 
by Edrisi, that the river of Kuku runs south, and expends 
itself in the sands of the desert, like the Tigris in Mesopotamia ; 
in other words, was temporarily absorbed and cut off in the 



222 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



dry season. Ptolemy places a river in this quarter of Africa 
(11° W. of Alexandria), descending from Mount Girgires, and 
unquestionably the river of Kuku of Edrisi, as forming two 
lakes, and in the intermediate space sinking under ground, 
and again appearing ; in other words, in a portion of its course, 
dry, except during the rainy season. 

The accounts received by the African Association fromSheeref 
Inhammed regarding the mountainous district of Tibeste, is 
extremely interesting, and bears out the accounts received by 
Lyon. From Mourzook to the frontiers of that kingdom is one 
hundred and fifty miles ; and next comes a desert, two hundred 
miles broad. After this, the district of Tibeste is entered, bearing 
S.E. from Mourzook. The western portion of the mountains 
is crossed on the eastern route to Bornou. In two days the 
travellers pass vast hills, when they come to a fertile and beau- 
tifully diversified country, four days' journey broad, well 
peopled, and abounding with cows and sheep. Ben Ali, who 
travelled over the centre of these mountains, states, that on 
the twenty-sixth day's travelling, after leaving Mourzook, he 
came to the part named Waddan, or the Rivers, where the 
land was very prolific, and the people had dates, tobacco, and 
multitudes of sheep, and goats, and camels, and horses. They 
traded with Bornou, and exported, amongst other things, tclieat 
to that kingdom. Bornou was twenty days' forced marches 
distant; though the road was chiefly through a sandy desert, 
yet there were some places well watered. Kanem, five days' 
journey south of the desert of Bilma, he says, contained multi- 
tudes of camels and horses. The capital was ten days' journey 
from Bornou, and the capital of the latter place was seven days' 
journey from the northern frontier. 

The warlike movements of the nations, and the slave-catch- 
ing expeditions to this part of Africa, occasionally enable us to 
ascertain and to fix the positions of towns and countries. 
Thus, in addition to other passages which have been quoted 
from Denham, regarding the position of Bagherme, he says, 
(p. 214,) f< the Baghermies had once more come down the 
south side of the Shary, and induced the people of Loggun to 
declare for them," &c. Lyon, (p. 231,) tells us that the slaves 
which come to Fezzan, from Waday, are procured from Kooka 



WAR A — LAKE NUBA. 



223 



or Kaugha, Kota, Tama, Runga, and various petty states in 
their vicinity. According to Browne, the infidel nations nearest 
to Darfur, from which slaves are brought, is, first, Dar Kulla ; 
second, Benda; next, Djenke, or Donke, or Donga; fourth, 
the Yem-Yems, whose country we know ; and lastly, Olla, 
which is in the neighbourhood of Ashantee. Tahir, the 
Daghana chief, stated a curious fact to Denham, viz., that 
Bahr Fittre was always known to the people around it as the 
Darfur and Shilluk water. This lake appears to be the Nuba 
Palus of Ptolemy, which lake is placed by him about one 
degree and a half to the south of his Lybia Palus, and ten 
degrees and a half to the westward of the meridian of Alex- 
andria. The rivers to the westward of Wara are shown to be 
of considerable magnitude, by the facts that they abound with 
crocodiles and hippopotami, and are crossed in canoes by the 
inhabitants. Mr. Seetzen was informed at Cairo, that the 
river near Wara was as broad as the Nile at the latter place ; 
and Ritchie heard that the river, after issuing from Lake Fittre, 
was a mile broad. The accounts we have of other rivers in 
the neighbourhood enable us to reduce this mode of African 
amplification ; but still sufficient will remain to show that they 
are considerable streams. 

There is one bearing and distance given by Browne which 
has created much confusion in the geography of this part of 
Africa. It is the bearing and distance from Dar Ruma to 
Wara, eight and a half days' journey N.E. The true bearing- 
should be S.W. Such mistakes are quite common in the in- 
formation given by African travellers. The informant was 
looking from Wara to Dar Ruma, instead of looking from 
Dar Ruma to Wara, which was the distance and the bearing 
which he really had under consideration. Pages might be 
filled with examples of similar errors in other places. 

Bornou is, as has been stated, a very extensive country: 
Dar Saley is next to it in importance. Ten different languages, 
it is said, are spoken by the nations comprehended in the 
empire of Bornou. Bagherme ranks next to Dar Saley. 
The Mahommedan religion has the sway in all these countries, 
but a considerable portion of the population, comprehended 
within the territory of each, is still pagan. The interminable 



224 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

wars which are carried on betwixt the states mentioned, and 
also betwixt these states and their pagan neighbours, destroy all 
security, render all improvement impossible, and reduce coun- 
tries, which otherwise would be most productive, to general scenes 
of ruin and desolation ; nor will it, nor can it be otherwise, 
until a better order of things arise in this part of Africa, and, 
indeed, it may be said, in every part of Africa, when security 
and industry will prevail, and capital by labour be created in, 
or introduced into, all these countries. 

Amongst other countries in this quarter deserving of notice 
there is one named Runza, which appears to be situated to the 
S.E., or on the S.E. quarter of Bagherme, and on the S.W. 
quarter of Waday. In the route from Kano to Senaar, which 
Clapper ton obtained from a native traveller, he gives the coun- 
tries from Kano eastward in their order thus:— first Adamowa, 
second Bagherme, third Runza, fourth Raffins, fifth Darfur, 
sixth Kordofan ; from which it would appear that this great 
route, which takes the Bahr el Abiad in a very early pa rt of its 
course, passes close upon the southern limits of Waday. 
Browne has a country named Rugna, no doubt the same as 
Runga or Runza, which country he states has a king of its 
own, but that it is more dependent upon Waday than Darfur. 
Sultan Bello shows us this country under another name, viz., 
Dar Rooga, which he says is next to Bagherme in the road 
eastward ; three days' journey beyond which country, he states, 
the traveller reaches the territory of Waday. This country of 
Runga or Runza, Sultan Bello states, "is stony, abounding 
with rivers, and inhabited by infidels." This state may there- 
fore be placed in about 10° 30' N. lat., and 20° 30' E. long. 

The next country requiring notice is that named Waday, 
Bergoo, or Dar Saley. Next to Bornou, this is the most exten- 
sive and most important country in this part of eastern Africa. 
It extends from 10° to 15° N. lat.; twenty days' journey from 
north to south, and fifteen days' journey from east to west ; 
bounded east by Darfur, north by the Lybian Desert, west by 
Kanem and Bagherme, and south by Runza and other pagan 
countries, stretching towards Donga and the sources of the 
Bahr el Abiad, into which infidel countries, situated at the 
distance of fifteen days' journey, according to Burkhardt and 



WADAY, OR DAR SALEY. 



225 



south south-westward from the limits of Waday, the people 
of the latter country make frequent and furious inroads for the 
purpose of procuring slaves.. A portion of these slaves are 
exported to Fezzan, Egypt, and other places, but the greater 
portion are retained in Waday itself. To the south of Waday 
the country becomes very mountainous, and abounds with 
rivers, but to the north it becomes arid and more level. The 
territory of Waday itself is described as being in general level, 
with but few rivers, except such as are formed during the rainy 
season, and which in several places leave large receptacles for 
water, or lakes, which retain large bodies of water throughout 
the dry season. Sultan Bello states that the inhabitants of this 
country are principally supplied with water from wells. The 
position of this country is ascertained with sufficient accuracy. 
Sultan Bello states, that from Sira, a town on the eastern con- 
fines of Bornou, to Bergoo, is a distance of twenty days' 
journey. Buckhardt was informed that the distance from 
Bornou to Waday was, by one roundabout road, thirty days' 
journey, but by a shorter road, twenty days. The distances 
given by Browne from Darfur westward, to Wara and Fittre, 
correspond exactly with the distances given by Lyon, Bow- 
ditch, Buckhardt, Sultan Bello, and others, from Bornou to the 
former places. The territory of Waday extends further to the 
north than Bagherme, which latter is bounded on the N.E. by 
the country called Kory, and Kanem on the Bahr el Ghazelle. 
Denham (p. 216) gives us the position of the northern, or 
rather north-western point of Waday, when he states that " a 
party of Showaas had once indeed, since our residence at Kouka, 
come from the borders of the Waday country beyond Kanem, 
to sell a few camels, &c," and in another place, (p. 215,) he 
states that bad news had reached Kouka, "both from the Bag- 
herme side and the Kanem — from the S.E. and the E." In 
fact, at that time, a war of extermination raged between Bornou 
and Waday, for the possession of Kanem. Lyon (p. 3,) states 
that Waday lay southward and eastward of Fezzan, and when 
the different bearings and distances which had been given by 
him and by Buckhardt of the positions of different places on the 
road are considered, the bearing to Wara comes out nearly S.E. 
by S. The exact distances, bearings, and positions, given by 

Q 



226 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



different authorities, it is difficult at times exactly to ascertain, 
because sometimes these are given to the confines of a country, 
at other times to a province of a country, and at other times to 
the capital of the country, or of a particular province therein. 
Waday, according to Buckhardt, is divided into several pro- 
vinces, one named Djyr, or Gir, from the river of that name, 
which passes about three days' journey to the westward of 
Wara ; this is on the S.E. There is also the province of 
Runga; and also, on the S.W., Munkary, or Mungari. There 
are also the provinces of Sila, Dar Tama, Gimur, (the Gimer 
of Browne) Modjo, supposed by Buckhardt to be the same as 
the Muddago of Browne, and the Metko of Mr. Seetzen. 
Lastly, there is Wara, which is a very large province, and in 
which the capital, Wara, or, as Sultan Bello calls it, Hoowara, is 
situated. Although the country is in general level, yet there are 
several mountains in it, some of which are in the neighbourhood 
of Wara, and there appears to be a large mountainous district 
betwixt the province of Wara and Darfur. Muddago, or Bud- 
dago, according to Lyon, consists " of some high mountains 
of black stone." The Waday traders state, " that several very 
large rivers, which are never dry," flow through the pagan coun- 
tries which are situated to the south-westward of their country. 
The ruling population of Waday are Mahommedans. Through- 
out Waday the number of slaves is very great; in every house and 
family there are several. These manufacture copper, and make 
earthenware and pipe heads. They work also in leather, copper, 
&c. Silver is said to be very abundant in these pagan countries. 

Next to Waday, and east therefrom, is the country of 
Darfur, the position of which is so well known from Browne's 
travels, that little need be said of it here. It is a very exten- 
sive country, "hilly, sandy, and droughty," so much so, says 
Sultan Bello, "that, notwithstanding the great many deep 
wells they have, the people are obliged to preserve their water 
within the trunks of trees. They possess plenty of swift 
horses, camels, oxen, and sheep. The capital is called Nan- 
talti, through which a river runs during the rainy season, but 
in winter the people are obliged to dig wells in the bed of that 
river for water. They live upon the Dokhun and Dura, and 
they have some date gardens." The territories of Darfur 



DARFUR. — SHEIBON. 



227 



stretch southward to the banks of the Bahr el Abiad, and as 
these approach to the latter, and its tributary streams on the 
north side, the country becomes more hilly and fruitful, and is 
thickly intersected with streams of water. To the S.E., and 
immediately on the frontiers of the kingdom, is the district of 
Sheibon,"so renowned for its gold mines. The people are all 
black ; the younger and the unmarried go quite naked. The 
population in this part are independent of the Arabs, and sub- 
ject only to their own numerous petty chiefs. A vast number 
of slaves are brought from this district, most of whom are 
prisoners of war. Wars amongst them, as amongst other 
nations in Africa, are very frequent, and slavery is the doom of 
the conquered. The number of slaves annually exported from 
Darfur is supposed to be from 9,000 to 10,000. The caravan 
with which Browne returned to Egypt carried with it 5,000 
slaves. To the south of Cobbe, the capital of Darfur, accord- 
ing to Browne, twenty-three days' journey, are the much talked 
of copper mines of Fertit, situated in a very mountainous 
country. Near these, and to the N.W., is the source of the 
Bahr Misselad of Browne, the Om Teymam, or Djyr of Buck- 
hardt, and the Gir of Ptolemy. Three days' journey to the 
east of Fertit is the Bahr Taisha, one of the north-side tributa- 
ries of the Bahr el Abiad ; and four and a half days' journey 
east from thence is Tendermi, where the Bahr Taisha joins 
the Bahr el Abiad. Donga, a large district, in which the prin- 
cipal western sources of the Bahr el Abiad are said to be, is 
south from Abou Talfain. The country around Donga is repre- 
sented to be very hilly. The distance from thence to Shilluk is 
stated to be forty days' journey, and the extreme western point 
of Donga to be only twenty days' journey from the S.E. limits 
of Bornou. Every kind of labour, both in Kordofan and in 
Darfur, but especially in the latter, is performed by the women. 
The manners of the whole population are exceedingly licen- 
tious, and the intercourse betwixt the sexes, open, profligate, 
and disgusting in the extreme. The population is not large, 
and consists of various Arab tribes, who are all Mahommedans.* 

* The authorities for the preceding sections are, Edrisi, Makrisi, Ibn Said, 
Abulfeda, Browne, Buckhardt, Denham, Clapperton, Sultan Bello, Sheikh el 
Kanemy, Lyon, Dupuis, Bowditch, Horneman, Ptolemy, Leo, and several native 
African travellers. 

Q 2 



228 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



The next country betwixt Darfur and the Nile, or rather the 
Bahr el Abiad, is Kordofan. Buckhardt gives the distance 
from Dar Essoltane, the residence of the sovereigns of Darfur, 
to the confines of Kordofan, to be twelve days' journey, and 
thirteen by another road; and from thence to Obeydh, the 
capital, is three days' journey. This place was named by 
Bruce, Ibeit ; Sultan Bello calls it Loobi. From Obeydh to 
Shendy, on the Bahr el Abiad, is, according to Buckhardt, a 
journey of thirteen to fourteen days. From Menkarah, on the 
same river, to the same place, is, according to Dr. Holroyd, 
sixty-seven hours forty-five minutes' travelling, or 170 miles 
S.W. Sultan Bello says of Kordofan, that "it is very fertile, 
and has small mountains, hills and sands ; as also it contains 
fine horses, and plenty of cattle and asses." The Arab tribes, 
Beni Tadhel and Maaly, live on the route from Obeydh to 
Shilluk, on the way to Senaar. They supply the best gum, 
liban, or incense. Kordofan is a complete oasis, being sepa- 
rated on all sides from the neighbouring countries by deserts 
of six days' extent, except that of Shilluk, which is only four. 
The Bahr el Abiad may be considered as the boundary of Kor- 
dofan on the east; and on the north, its territories are said to 
extend to within six days' journey of Old Dongola, on the 
Nile. Obeydh, according to Dr. Holroyd, contains 80,000 
inhabitants. 

One of the countries mentioned by Edrisi, and other old 
Arabian writers, as situated in these parts, and mentioned also 
by Browne, is that named Zagawa. It lies to the north of 
Darfur. According to the Arabian writers alluded to, it lies 
twenty days' journey S.W. from Old Dongola, which would 
bring its position to be in about 26°30'E. long., and 16° N. lat. 
According to Ibn Said, who places this country in about 
5° long. W. of the meridian of Alexandria, Zagawa in early 
days was subject to Kanem. Zagawa was a large district, and 
the capital of the same name stood in the southern part thereof. 
The towns and villages of this district, and those of Taju, its 
northern neighbour, extend along to the borders of the Egyptian 
Nile. 

Before adverting to the Egyptian Nile, its early tributaries, 
and the countries situated around them, it is proper to take a 



NUBIA. 



glance at Nubia, a country once well known in the history of 
the world, but now reduced to the lowest possible state of im- 
potence and decay. It extends from the confines of Egypt to 
about the lat. of 11° N., a distance of 780 geographical miles, 
and its breadth, from the Red Sea to what may be termed the 
line of the Great Libyan Desert, is about 500 miles. With 
the exception, however, of the banks of the Nile, the whole of 
the space to the north of 15° may be considered a desert, the 
cultivated land extending along on each bank of the river from 
a distance of one half mile to two and a half miles, but very 
seldom going beyond the distance of one mile. All beyond 
this, but more especially to the westward, is barren sands, and 
utterly waste and worthless. The towns and population, 
which are numerous and considerable, are confined to the 
narrow strip of cultivated land laying along both banks of the 
Nile, already mentioned; but the cultivation is only maintained 
by water drawn from the bed of the Nile to moisten the soil, 
and sustain vegetation. The Nile, in no part of its course 
through Nubia, — which, including the great and remarkable 
winding of its stream in this country, is nearly 1000 miles, — 
does not overflow its banks. Betwixt the Nile and the Red 
Sea, but more especially adjoining the shores of that sea, the 
country is mountainous, and a considerable belt of bare and 
barren hills extend along the whole western coast of that re- 
markable inlet of the ocean. There are but very few ports or 
harbours on the Nubian coast of the Red Sea. The principal is 
the ancient Berenice, on the very limits of Egypt and Nubia; 
and more to the south, Suakem, through which the principal 
intercourse with central Africa and Arabia is carried on. This 
port is the greatest slave-trading port in all the Red Sea, and 
a very great number of slaves are yearly carried through it and 
embarked for Arabia. It may here be remarked, that the 
Nile of Egypt may, as a river, in reference to its magnitude, 
be considered to terminate at El Mekheir, a little below the 
junction of the Atbara, in about 17° N. lat; because, from 
thence downwards, it not only receives no supplies, but is even 
diminished in magnitude, through the waste of its waters in 
passing through such a vast burning desert country, and by 
the quantity of water which is drawn from it to enliven the 



230 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



cultivated land of Nubia. Nubia may be at present considered 
as being subject to the Pasha of Egypt. 

i 

THE BAHR EL ABIAD, ETC. 

The next points which deserve consideration are the early 
tributaries of the Egyptian Nile, and the sources and the courses 
of the chief of these, namely, the Bahr el Abiad and the Bahr 
el Azreek. The former is a much larger river than the other. 
Bruce, in fact, states that the Bahr el Abiad carries in its 
stream three times as much water as the Bahr el Azreek, and 
that without the vast tribute of the latter, the stream of the 
Bahr el Azreek would not in the dry season reach the land of 
Egypt. The junction of these rivers has been accurately de- 
termined by Linant to be in 15° 34' N. lat., and 82° 31' 58" 
E. long. Above this junction he sailed up the river, during 
the month of April, about 180 geographical miles. An officer, 
named Ibrahim, belonging to the Pasha of Egypt, marched 
upward from the junction with a military force, on a slave- 
catching expedition ; part of the force marching on the one side 
of the river, and part on the other, to a distance of thirty-five 
days' journey ; which would bring the point of its termination 
to about 10° N. lat. and 29° E. long. In this marauding 
expedition they marched through the territory of the Shilluks, 
extending fifteen days' journey ; and penetrated six days' 
journey into the territories of Denke, or Donga, when they 
were obliged to turn back unsuccessful. Linant, in the month 
of April, found the river at its junction 1800 feet broad, and a 
little higher up one mile and a half wide, and the depth from 
three to four fathoms. The regular banks were four miles 
separate; still higher up the river expanded to a greater width, 
resembling, in fact, a great lake ; and during the rains and the 
floods the breadth was stated to extend to twenty-one miles. 
At Shilluk the river is considerably contracted, but in the 
country of Denke it again expands, and where the Egyptian 
officer turned back, he describes the width to be equal to six 
hours' passage. At this point he saw no mountains in any direc- 
tion. The land on both sides of the river upward is, in general, 
alluvial, and in some places densely peopled. The elevation 



THE B A II II EL ABIAD. 



23 I 



of the country must be considerable. Linant, in April, 
felt the cold very keen with a strong north wind. The 
mountainous districts, where the river takes its rise, must 
therefore be, as they really are, at a considerable distance 
both to the south and to the west ; and from the south, 
there is every reason to believe, the most important branches 
come. Sultan Bello, Clapperton's informants, and the people 
about Senaar, state that travellers and pilgrims from Dar 
Saley, and from Kano, through Adamowa to Senaar, travel, 
after leaving Adamowa, first up another river, and reach the 
Bahr el Abiad at a point so high that they can wade across it 
in the dry season, and that from thence they travel two months 
along its banks in their journey to Senaar. This shows the 
great distance of its sources to the west, and which is further 
confirmed by the following facts. Twenty-three and a half 
days' journey from Cobbe W. by S. is the country of the 
copper-mines, called Fertit ; from thence three and a half days' 
journey east is the Bahr Taisha, a tributary to the Bahr el 
Abiad; and four days further east this river joins the Bahr 
el Abiad itself at Tendermi, which shows that the course of 
the river from Aleis upwards is, as the Turkish officer states, 
from west to east. From the junction of the Bahr Taisha 
the direction of the main bed of the river runs, probably, con- 
siderably to the southward of west, because, as has already 
been stated, from the confines of Waday and Bagherme to the 
country around its sources, is about fifteen days' journey to 
the westward of south. From the confines of Bornou to the 
country of Donga, where the westernmost sources of the river 
are said to lie, is twenty days' journey ; and from Shilluk to 
the sources is stated to be a journey of forty days. Ledyard 
was told, by slave-traders and slaves who had come from the 
countries around the sources of the Bahr el Abiad, that these 
sources (western) lay fifty-five days' journey west of Senaar. 
Dr. Holroyd tells us that Khursched Pasha had gone up the 
Bahr el Abiad twenty-one days' journey, or rather navigation, 
above iUeis ; and after passing the country of the Shilluks, he 
entered the country of Denke, or Donga. Above Aleis there 
were several rocks in the river. 

All these points show that the sources of one branch of the 



232 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Bahr el Abiad is far to the west. The truth is, that the river 
for such a distance spreading out like a great lake, proves that 
its sources must be very remote, and in woody, mountainous 
countries, which produce powerful streams ; otherwise the great 
evaporation which must take place from these lakes in the dry 
season, would not leave a river of the magnitude which Linant 
has described it to be in that season. Another point men- 
tioned by Linant is, that after the flood in the river had begun, 
it brought down with its waters enormous multitudes of fishes, 
which he takes as a proof that the river is formed by a suc- 
cession of lakes. The truth is, this fact shows that the 
river is supplied by a very great number of streams from moun- 
tainous districts, and of considerable length ; which streams 
falling very low in the dry season, the fish seek refuge and 
breed in multitudes in the deep pools, from which they are dis- 
lodged when the currents become strong after the rains. Park 
found this to be the case in the tributaries of the Senegal, 
which he passed during the dry season. Another proof of 
the length of course of the Bahr el Abiad is its magnitude 
at the junction with the Blue river, as compared to the 
magnitude of other rivers ; thus, it is as wide at the point 
mentioned as the Niger is near Jinnie, after a course of 
700 miles, and very much larger indeed than the Bahr el 
Azreek, after a course of an equal distance. During the 
dry season, where Buckhardt crossed the Atbara, the principal 
branch of the Blue river, not far from Shendy, he forded it 
easily, the water scarcely reaching above the knees ; the 
current very slow, scarcely perceptible ; the banks were twenty 
feet high, and from 400 to 500 paces distant from each other ; 
yet the course of the Atbara to this point is nearly 500 geo- 
graphical miles. 

From the height of the mountains near Mandara, from the 
immense peaks rising to the limits of snow adjoining the 
Bight of Biafra, and from the very high land which is found 
about the sources of the Bahr el Azreek, which Bruce calcu- 
lated, and most probably correctly calculated, to be 10,400 feet 
above the level of the sea, while the Peak of Samen, in the 
neighbourhood of Antalow, covered with perpetual snow, 
rises to a still greater elevation, we may reasonably conclude 



THE BAHR EL ABIAD. 



2SS 



that the hills in the neighbourhood of, or around the sources 
of the Bahr el Abiad, rise equally high, and give birth, as it is 
clearly evident they do, to numerous mighty streams flowing 
in different directions. It is also exceedingly probable, that 
the range which bounds and gives rise to the tributaries of the 
Bahr el Abiad to the south is at a considerable distance from 
the positions of the rivers as now placed. The accounts given 
by the Egyptian officer referred to, which state that he per- 
ceived no mountains in sight on the upper course of the river 
where he had travelled, go to confirm this supposition ; and it is 
almost certain that the ridge which bounds the bed of the Abiad 
on the north, is, at least to the meridian of Wara, of no great 
height ; and which, together with the position in which we find 
it, can afford no supplies of any great importance to the 
Abiad from that quarter. This we really find, so far as the 
country is known, is actually the case. 

" In the country of the Shilluks it is certain," says Linant, 
" that there are other rivers which come from the west, and 
the following is a list of them, in the order in which they are 
met in ascending the stream : — First, the Ned-el-Nil, or feast 
of the Nile, which passes close under the mountain of Guebel 
Dahir, or Mountain of the Round, so called because it is 
ascended spirally. It is covered with negro villages, is situated 
in the country of Taggalla, and the river which passes to the 
south of it is said to flow from a great lake, to which I heard 
several names given, none of which I shall therefore cite ; 
several other rivers are reported to fall into it, one called the 
Bahr Soudan. Second, the Suar. Third, the Hou el Kame. 
Fourth, the Serat. Fifth, the Hor el Nahal, besides some 
others." A clue to the position of the main western stream 
may, it is presumed, be found in the river called " the Bahr 
Soudan ;" which, coming from the westward, naturally assumes, 
amongst the natives to the eastward, the name of the river 
Soudan ; and this is confirmed by Sultan Bello's memoir, which 
designates all the pagan nations to the southward of Darfur 
" tribes of Soodans." The " Bahr Soudan," therefore, thus 
mentioned by Linant, is very probably the great western 
branch of the Bahr el Abiad, in its early course ; which, coming 
from the westward, and from amongst those tribes of Soudans, 



234 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

is, of course, denominated by the Arab population, not impro- 
perly, " the Bahr Soudan." 

Further, and in proof that the Bahr el Abiad must come 
from a point considerably more to the westward than it has 
hitherto been supposed to do, and from at least 23° E. long, when 
its course will be 900 geographical miles ; take the fact, that the 
Bahr el Azreek, from its source to the junction with the Bahr 
el Abiad, runs over a space of nearly 700 geographical miles. 
On either hand it receives numerous and important tributaries ; 
some of them of a great length of course, and running through 
very mountainous countries. Now, the Bahr el Abiad can 
scarcely receive a greater number of important tributaries. 
Its chief supplies must come from the south ; for it is not only 
evident, but certain, that on its northern side it receives but 
few supplies, and that these supplies cannot be of any great 
magnitude. To form a river of a magnitude so much greater 
than the Bahr el Azreek, it must be allowed a considerably 
longer course, even admitting that it receives supplies from the 
southward, as it certainly does, equal to, or even greater than 
those which the Bahr el Azreek receives on every hand. 
Placing its sources, therefore, at the point mentioned, we shall 
have the curious and important culminating point of Central 
Africa, where the land is probably the highest, and from which 
points flow the waters of the Bahr el Abiad east, the waters 
probably of the chief branches of the Congo to the S.W., 
the waters of the Shadda to the W.N.W., the waters of the 
Asoo, the chief branch of the Shary, to the N.W., and the Gir 
of Ptolemy from the very point where he has placed it ; and we 
shall have the further important fact disclosed of his eastern 
branch to the Niger from Mount Thala, and certainly " above" 
that is to the southward of his Lybian lake, or Lake 
Shad. 

Here it may be necessary to observe, that the map accom- 
panying this work has been constructed upon the accounts 
generally given by travellers, and received by travellers, and 
also the opinions of geographers, formed from travels and 
writings, several of which have already been referred to, and 
especially Linant, one of the latest. It must be observed, 
however, that the latter, as regards the swelling of the different 



THE BAIIR EL ABIAD. 



235 



rivers, from the effects of the tropical rains, reported chiefly 
what he heard and was told on this very important point. 
Instead of the Bahr el Azreek flooding before the Bahr el Abiad, 
other authorities, equally good, and better, inasmuch as they 
describe, as regards this matter, what came under their actual 
observation, pointedly state that the Bahr el Abiad floods before 
the Bahr el Azreek, even so much as a month earlier ; which 
fact establishes, from incontrovertible data, that the main stream 
of the Bahr el Abiad comes from a very distant part in the south 
of Africa, and at no great distance from the equator, as in fact 
the two important authorities about to be referred to state that 
it really does. 

The superior magnitude of the Bahr el Abiad is indisputable. 
Bruce says, that it is three times the breadth of the Bahr el 
Azreek, (half a mile at Senaar,) and also that it carries in its 
stream three times as much water as the Azreek, and, moreover, 
that without the supply which the White River brings, the Bahr 
el Azreek would never reach the land of Egypt, but be eva- 
porated in its passage through the Nubian desert. In Bruce's 
Original Journals, which have been printed in the last edition, 
(Edinburgh, 1805,) Mr. Bruce has the following remark (vii. 91,) 
— "The Tacazze, or Atbara, joins the Nile four days on the 
other side of Shendy, or three days on the side of Berber. The 
place is called Magiran, which in Arabic signifies the junction. 
In summer it is so shallow you pass it on foot, the water taking 
you up only mid-leg. All the rivers in these countries fail 
when the sun goes south of the line, however abundant and full 
these were before ; and were it not for the Abiad, which rises 
near the line, and whose inundation is perpetual, from its en- 
joying the rains of both rainy seasons, the Nile itself would 
be eight months in the year dry, and at no time arrive across 
the desert in so much fulness, as to answer any purpose of 
agriculture in Egypt. The Abiad river is three times as big as 
the Nile." And (p. 92,) "the Nile would fail, were it not for the 
never-failing Abiad, or Bahr el Aice ; this rising near the line, 
considerably south of the sources of the Nile, in the latitudes 
where fall perpetual rains, it never decreases, but is always 
full." These passages are, from some cause unknown, but 
unaccountable, suppressed in Bruce's narrative, and also the 



236 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



course of the Bahr el Abiad expunged from, or not laid down 
in his map, although the points stated are of the greatest 
geographical importance, more especially as the accounts given 
are confirmed by later and specific authority. 

Mr. Inglish, who accompanied the army of the present Pasha 
of Egypt in his campaign against Senaar and the countries 
adjacent, and who penetrated to Singue, to the south of the 
place mentioned, most pointedly states, from a personal know- 
ledge, and even ocular demonstration of the fact, that the Bahr 
el Abiad began (23d April) to rise one month before the Bahr 
el Azreek ; that the stream is formed by one important branch 
coming from the south-westward, and besides others, there is 
one still more important, coming in its middle course from the 
southward. He pointedly also states, that the rise of the Bahr 
el Abiad at its junction with the Blue river commences in the 
month of April. This, and the rise being one month earlier 
than the rise of the Bahr el Azreek, at once establishes the 
fact, that its most distant source must be far to the southward, 
and at no great distance from the equator, where the rains, in 
the eastern half of that portion of the continent of Africa, com- 
mence in March. The rains in the very high lands precede 
the sun nearly one month, so that when the sun approaches 
within 3° of the equator, on the south side thereof, which is in 
the beginning of March, the rains commence in about 4° N. lat., 
and increase as the sun approaches these parallels. The dis- 
tance from this point, say 4° N. lat., and 26° or 27° of E. long., 
would agree well, and bring the commencement of the flood in 
the Bahr el Abiad, at its junction with the Bahr el Azreek, to 
be about, or after the middle of April, as Mr. Inglish says. 
Linant did not see the Bahr el Abiad at the beginning of its 
rise. Mr. Inglish did, and therefore his account must be 
admitted to be correct, or at any rate that which is the most to 
be relied on ; and taking it to be so, it establishes, on invincible 
evidence, the great distance to the south of the chief springs 
of the Bahr el Abiad. One mile above its junction with the 
Blue river, Mr. Inglish says it is one mile and a half broad. 
This is an immense river, then too just at the commencement 
of its rise, and is another proof of its remote sources. 

This view of the matter also brings before us other curious 



THE BAHR EL ABIAD. 



237 



points relating to tropical Africa. While the rains precede 
the sun on the high lands in the eastern division of that con- 
tinent, that is, to the eastward of the central high lands, which, 
in ahout 26° E. long., divide the waters which flow eastward 
into the Indian Ocean from those which flow westward into 
the Atlantic, the rains are found to follow the sun, or rather 
the sun precedes them above 6°, or one month, in all the less 
elevated parts of Africa, whether to the east or to the west of 
the central chain ; but as in the mountainous districts to the 
east, so in the mountainous districts to the west, as in Ashantee, 
the rains commence early in March. This gives a fine eluci- 
dation of the different periods for the flooding of the African 
rivers, and goes to determine, with considerable accuracy, the 
positions of their respective sources. On the return of the 
sun to the southward, the phenomenon mentioned is reversed, 
and the rains precede him in the western parts of central 
Africa, and hence the rise of the Congo in September (the 
7th), as Tuckey found it about 280 miles from its mouth. 
Hence also the continuance of the Shadda in flood longer than 
the Niger, as Oldfield found and states in his narrative ; because 
its chief sources are considerably to the southward. Thus, 
while one great branch of the Bahr el Abiad comes from the 
W.S.W., a greater, and the main branch, in all probability, 
comes from the SS.W. or S. by W., and in the longitude and 
latitude above-mentioned, from a point to the eastward of some 
of the branches of the Congo, and to the westward of some of 
the branches, or rather of the chief branch, of the Quilimancy. 

Mr. Inglish's words are very pointed : after stating that the 
source of the Adit, or Blue River, is at the distance of sixty 
camel days' journey south from Senaar, he adds, (see Quarterly 
Review, No. 55, pp. 89, 90,) from information received, that the 
course of the Bahr el Abiad " was nearly parallel with that of 
the Adit, but that its source was much further off among the 
Gebel el Gumera; that it is augmented by the junction of 
three other rivers, one from the south-west, and two others 
from the east, running from the mountains south of Senaar. 
The source cannot be in the same range of mountains as the 
Adit, or Bahr el Azreek, as, notwithstanding it is stated to be 
further off, the inundation precedes that of the Azreek nearly a 



238 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

whole month." The rise took place on the 23d of the month 
Shaban. Dr. Holroyd tells us, on the authority of Khursched 
Pasha, that the Bahr el Abiad divided at a considerable dis- 
tance above Khartoum, which division, probably, forms the 
eastern branch alluded to by Inglish. j 

The Bahr el Azreek takes its rise in the province of Gojam 
in lat. 11° N., and about 37° E. long. It springs from two 
powerful sources, and pursues its course due north, when, 
entering, and passing through Lake Dambea, it continues its 
course first S.E., then S., then S.W. and N.W., until, 
passing the country of the Gongas, it pursues a course, being 
joined by several streams on both sides, by Senaar to its 
junction with the Bahr el Abiad. Its sources are about two 
miles above the level of the sea. Below Lake Dambea, it is 
already a considerable stream, and falls over the cataract called 
Alata, about 40 feet high, with a terrific noise and rapidity ; 
its course downwards from thence is nearly circular and very 
rapid. In passing the country of the Gongas, it bursts 
through a chain of mountains in which there is a cataract 280 
feet high. In these parts it is occasionally fordable, but 
generally so deep that the savage tribes of the Galla, in their 
inroads into Abyssinia, pass it on rafts supported by inflated 
skins.- Abyssinia is a country exceedingly mountainous, rising 
in all the picturesque and singular forms imaginable. The air 
on these mountains is cool, but in the valleys it is very hot. 
These valleys are very fertile, and the population is consider- 
able. Another branch of the Egyptian Nile is the Atbara, or 
Tacazze. It rises in the beautiful province of Angot, 200 
miles to the S.E. of Gondar, 11° 30' N. lat, and 41° 30' E. 
long. ; and passing northwards, at a considerable distance west 
from Antalow, and by the eastern base of the snowy Peak of 
Samen, it continues a N.W. course, joined by several streams 
from both sides, until it joins the Nile, about twenty miles above 
El Mekheir. To the south of Sire, where Bruce crossed the 
stream in his advance during the dry season, he found the bed 
of the river 200 yards wide, and the stream three feet deep. 
It bears, he states, in its bed one-third of all the waters in the 
empire of Abyssinia. The range of hills which thus give 
it birth, will approach within seventy-five miles of the sea at 



BAHR EL AZREEK ABYSSINIA. 



239 



Zeilah. Abyssinia was once a very powerful empire, and 
extended its sway over a great portion of the great eastern 
Horn of Africa. But intestine wars and attacks on the part 
of its savage neighbours the Galla, and also of the Arabs 
from the south and from the north, have greatly reduced its 
power, and deeply injured and destroyed the population of 
the country. It is still, however, a considerable state, extend- 
ing about 500 miles from north to south, and as many from 
east to west, and is situated betwixt 8° and 16° N. lat., and 
35° and 43J° E. long. The climate, from the great and general 
elevation of the land, is in many places moderate, and very 
fine. The tropical rains are exceedingly violent from April 
to August, which cause all the rivers to swell to a very 
great height — from eighteen to twenty feet above their cus- 
tomary level — and bear down to the north that immense 
flood of waters which inundates and fertilizes all the land 
of Egypt. The capital of Abyssinia is Gondar, but the 
residence of the court of late years has been principally at 
Antalow. Its best ports on the Red Sea are Arkeeko and 
Massouah, to the west of the Isle of Dhallac ; but the 
mountains which run along the whole coast of the Red 
Sea, beyond the straits of Babelmandeb, rise to great height, 
and leave no roads for any general communication, except, 
perhaps, from the Bay of Assab. Abyssinia has been from 
early times a Christian country, of the tenets of the Alexan- 
drian Greek church. They are surrounded on all sides by 
tribes of the most savage character ; and from the frequent 
inroads of these tribes they are, in many things, descended 
to their level ; amongst which is the barbarous practice of 
eating raw flesh — of even cutting it out of the living animal. 
Still Abyssinia is an interesting country ; and a connexion 
with a strong civilized European power may even yet make 
that state the means of spreading knowledge and civilization 
through the hitherto most unknown and most impenetrable 
portion of Central Africa.* 

* Authorities for these sections of the work:- — Bruce, Portuguese Mission- 
aries, Linant, Ibrahim Pasha, Rennell, Browne, Buckhardt, &c. &c. 



240 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



AFRICAN RIVERS WHICH FLOW TO THE SOUTHWARD. 

The African rivers which flow southward and south-east- 
ward from the great central range of mountains, generally 
denominated the Mountains of the Moon, remain next to be 
considered. This great range of mountains extends from the 
high land of Cameroons, in lat. 3° 40' N. along in an E. by N. 
direction, by the sources of the Bahr el Abiad, in about 4° N. 
lat. eastward to the sources of the southern tributaries of the 
Egyptian Nile, in 7° N. lat., and thence eastward again in an 
E.Ef.E. direction to the Indian Ocean, in from 10° to 11° N. 
lat., from Cape Ras Halfoon to Cape Guardafui, or Guardefan, 
and Cape Asser ; the latter the most eastern point of the conti- 
nent of Africa. The highest land in this eastern portion of 
Africa is the mountain called Samen, to the west of Antalow, 
and on the west side of the Tacazze. 

Part of the range to the north-west is denominated Lamalmon, 
on which Bruce, in the middle of winter, found the thermo- 
meter 32°, attended with hoar-frost. To the southward of these 
parallels, the whole country of Abyssinia, to the parallel of 
6° or 5° N. lat, is one vast collection of mountains, of the most 
abrupt and fantastic shapes, intersected with deep valleys, 
through which flow numerous deep and rapid streams, chiefly 
to the Bahr el Azreek. The lofty peak of Samen is covered 
with perpetual snow. In the centre, or rather beyond the 
centre of the province of Shoa and EfFat, to the east, the moun- 
tains are very high, and run on the bearing of north to south. 
The part of the province called EfFat is enclosed within high 
and craggy mountains ; crossing and descending which Bermu- 
dez and his companions represent the path, in metaphorical 
language, like descending into hell. The valley at their foot 
is very fertile, and much cotton cloth is manufactured in this 
country. In the south-east of this province rises the river 
H awash, which flows about N. by E. from Ancobar, and is 
lost in salt lakes or sands, near the south-west corner of the 
Gulf of Zeilah. Neither at Tadjoura, nor at Zeilah, nor 
between these places, do travellers notice or state that there 
are any rivers ; which proves, in the most convincing manner, 
that the dividing ridge approaches very near the sea, in the 



ZEILAH — SHOA AND EFFAT. 



environs of Zeilali, because in the province of Angot, on the 
opposite side of the chain, springs and rivers are exceedingly 
numerous. This part or province of Abyssinia is covered with 
perpetual verdure, which shows that its elevation must be con- 
siderable, and that, consequently, the streams are not dried up 
from the severity of the drought in the dry season. To the 
east of Angot, and south-west from the Strait of Babelmandeb, 
is situated in 11° 16' N. lat. and 42° 49' E. long., the capital of 
Adel or Adaiel, named Zeilah, at the bottom of a small bay, 
formed by a promontory extending a short distance into the 
sea. It has some trade with Aden and Mocha. It is low and 
hot, and the country around is destitute of vegetation. The 
population only obtain water from wells. It is carried from the 
wells by camels. Between Zeilah and the isles Eybad, the 
channel has only five feet water. The countries or states of 
Bali and Doara or Dowara, border on Adel to the south ; and to 
the south-west lies a Christian state, called Ogge. This is by 
far the best and the nearest point to penetrate into Abyssinia, 
and to those interesting countries, for interesting they must be, 
which are situated around the sources of the Zebee, and the 
extreme southern branches of the Bahr el Abiad. 

The capital of Shoa and EfFat is named Ancobar, and is 
situated in about 40° 3' E. long, and 9° N. lat. to the southward 
(for such is its position, from the following important information) 
of the river Hawash. This town is clearly more to the south 
than it has appeared in modern maps, and is more, probably, to 
the southward of the parallel of 9° N. than to the north of that 
parallel. A strict attention to the subject, and close research, 
make it appear, from every account which we have of these 
parts, that the dividing range which separates, to the S. W. of 
Ancobar, the waters which flow north into the Bahr el Azreek 
from those which flow south into the Zebee, &c. is farther south 
than has hitherto been supposed, and probably lies and runs 
in the parallel of 7° 30' to 8° N. lat. 

Just as these sheets were about to be put to press, D. Coates, 
Esq., of the Church Missionary Society, kindly favoured me 
with the perusal of some letters written by worthy missionaries 
despatched by that Society to preach the gospel in the Abys- 
synian province of Shoa or Effat, where no European has ever 

R 



242 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



been since the days of Alvarez, in 1520. The last letter is 
dated June 1st, 1839, at Farry, a town only half a day's jour- 
ney from Ancobar. They landed at Zeilah, from which place 
they proceeded first to Tadjoura, which is quite wrongly laid 
down in our present maps. With a good breeze it took them 
about thirteen hours to go from Zeilah to Tadjoura. At the 
latter place, they found a merchant vessel from the Mauritius, 
which gave them the latitude of the place, 1 1° 58' N. The 
principal exports of Tadjoura are slaves. Its commercial 
communications and intercourse is with the African country 
called Aousa, peopled by Habashah Christians. From Tad- 
joura they set out, on the 26th of April, on their journey to 
Ancobar. They travelled, several days (four) along the Gulf 
of Tadjoura, which is stated to be much deeper than repre- 
sented on the best maps. On the fifth day they lost sight of 
the Gulf, and began to cross a very high mountain ; and on 
the sixth day came again in sight of the Gulf, which is much 
deeper in that part than what is given on any maps. On that 
day they passed the salt-place, from whence the people of the 
interior, especially the people of Shoa, are supplied with salt, 
and which article they obtain in exchange for wheat and other 
articles. This salt-place is eight miles long and three broad, 
having salt on the one (west) side, and salt water on the other 
(east) side, which salt water, the natives affirm, has a commu- 
nication with the Gulf by subterraneous canals. 

From this spot the missionaries proceeded on their journey, 
and at the end of sixteen days they came to Mulloo. They 
travelled about four hours each day. The heat was very great, 
the thermometer generally at 100 ; and being in the height of 
the dry season, the country was very bare, though they met 
with water daily, and some trees, under the shade of which 
they could rest during their halts. The population was very 
scanty, the inhabitants having gone, with their cattle, to other 
places where pasture could be found, until the rainy season 
arrived, when they again return. In the neighbourhood of 
the salt lake the missionaries saw the mouths of many extinct 
volcanoes. The country through which they passed during 
the period mentioned, was alternately valleys and hills, ascend- 
ing, as they state, in this part of the journey ; but none of 



TAD JOUR A — MULLOO ANCORAR. 



these hills were so high as those in Abyssinia: therefore camels 
could traverse all that part of Africa, from Tadjoura to Shoa. 
From Mulloo they set out, on the 21st of May; on the 29th 
of that month they crossed the river Hawash ; and on the 
olst they arrived at Fary or Farry, half a day's journey from 
Ancobar, the residence of the king, who was at that time at 
Angallalla, a town about a day's journey S. W. of Ancobar, 
to which latter place he was expected to return in a few days. 

Such is a general sketch of this interesting journey, through 
this remarkable, and, we may almost say, unknown portion of 
Africa. General, and not very specific as it is, it nevertheless 
supplies us with some facts of importance. The high moun- 
tain which they crossed on the sixth day after leaving Tadjoura, 
must have been of a very considerable elevation, because they 
felt the air pure and keen, compared to the valleys below. 
The point of the harbour of Zeilah is probably the termination 
of this mountain. They passed, in their route westward, near 
Errur, or Hurrur, as it is called in our present maps. It is 
to be regretted that the bearings are not given, nor the magni- 
tude and the direction in which the river Hawash ran, stated ; 
but as they only crossed it once in their journey, this would indi- 
cate that it passes to the north instead of the south of Ancobar, 
and that the termination thereof is in some of the salt lakes, 
which, from the preceding accounts, are situated to the S.W. 
of Zeilah, and south of the point where the travellers alluded 
to quitted the environs of the Gulf of Zeilah and Berbera. 
The allusion also made at Mulloo about Errur or Hurrur 
shows that they were then near that place, and stating that 
they saw the mountains of the Galla, clearly means that they 
saw these mountains to the south of their intended route ; as 
in proceeding from Mulloo to Ancobar they knew they had to 
pass through the northern frontiers of the Galla country, during 
the space of five days' journey. Being at Mulloo to the north 
of the river Hawash, it is therefore probable the ridge or high 
lands which divide the rivers that run into the Indian Ocean, 
from those which flow into the Hawash and the Nile, run from 
Capes Guardafui and Ras Halfoon, in 10° to 11°, in a direction 
of W. S.W. to about 8° N. lat. in the meridian of Bosham. 

Moreover, from the preceding information, the following 

r 2 



244 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



very important facts are deduced. First, that there are no rivers 
entering the sea between Tadjoura and Zeilah ; thus proving 
that the high mountains approach very near the sea in that 
quarter ; and which high mountains, or dividing range, most 
probably run from the capes at Babelmandeb, in a south-west 
direction, to the sources of the Hawash and the chain previ- 
ously alluded to, north of Bosham, separating the waters which 
flow into the Nile, from those which flow into the Hawash ; 
but proving, at the same time, that from the point whence 
the preceding informants crossed the Hawash, namely two and 
a half days' journey to the east of Ancobar, that the Hawash 
receives no rivers from the north or north-west; thus establishing 
the extension and the position of the province of Angot, in 
the south-east part of Abyssinia; and that the rivers in that 
province flow north to the Tacazze, and not south-east to the 
Hawash or the Indian Ocean. Further, the informatoin 
received, shows and proves that Mr. Bruce is wrong in his 
theory and general information, namely, that the rains preceded 
the sun, on the eastern portions of Africa, one month ; because 
here we find that the travellers alluded to, crossed the country 
between Zeilah and Ancobar, in a period of time from the 
26th of April to the 1st of June, and met with no rain. In 
fact, the country was every where dried up, and the rainy 
season had not commenced. At the same time we know that 
the rains do commence in the high lands in Abyssinia, 3° more 
to the north, in March, the same as we find they commence in 
Ashantee, and the high mountains and woody countries in that 
portion of Africa. Hence it appears that the rains commence 
more than two months sooner in the high, mountainous, woody, 
and culminating points of Africa, than they do in countries 
and places low or less elevated, though placed further to the 
south on the northern torrid zone ; and hence, with the com- 
mencement of the swelling of the rivers in any given place, we 
have the elevated countries and culminating points from which 
these rivers flow, with a great degree of accuracy. 

One hundred and fifty miles S.E. by E. of Zeilah, is situated 
the town of Berbera on the coast of this part of the Indian 
Ocean : it carries on a considerable trade with Mocha. The 
exports from this town to Arabia consist of horses, mules, asses, 



BERBERA — CAPE GUARDAFUI. 



245 



gum-arabic, myrrh and frankincense, and slaves. The incense 
is of the finest quality, and comes from the neighbourhood of 
Guardafui, and along the whole coast westward to the Straits of 
Babelmancleb. Berbera also supplies Mocha with a con- 
siderable quantity of provisions, which proves that the country 
around it is fertile. A caravan goes regularly from a country 
called Kunun, twenty days' journey west of Berbera, to the 
latter place, in order to purchase Indian goods, &c. ; and the 
place first mentioned carries on a considerable trade with the 
country, as far to the westward as the Mountains of the Moon. 
A caravan also goes regularly from Gondar to Berbera with 
slaves, horses, ivory, &c. The trade of Berbera is chiefly in 
the hands of the Arab tribes called Somaulis, and one part, 
where much of the trade is carried on, is called Bunder-cassim, 
near Jibbeel-Feel, called by the English, Cape Felix. The 
S.E. winds which blow during eight months in the year over 
Africa to the eastward of the Straits of Babelmandeb, are felt 
exceedingly hot at Mocha, though by no means so hot as the 
N.W. winds which blow over the desert and the Red Sea to 
the south of Egypt. A small river enters the sea at Berbera, 
and another called the Mete in the meridian of 39°. This river 
was known about 2,000 years ago by the name of the Akanai 
or Daphnon. To the eastward another small stream enters 
the sea at Elephant Point, which is the name, Elephant River, 
that it bore at the early period just mentioned. Cape Guardafui 
was known to the ancients under the name of Aromata, and Ras 
Halfoon, under the name of Cape Tabai, the bay between them 
being then named Bellia or Beyla. South of Ras Halfoon was 
the ancient port of Opone. The whole shore south-westward to a 
little beyond the parallel of 5° N. is an iron-bound coast, without 
anchorage or water, to a short distance to the north of Cape 
Baxas, where there is an anchorage anciently known under the 
name of Serapion, and a small stream formerly called Bendal 
de Agoa. Proceeding southward we come to a stream called 
Doara, anciently known under the name of Bendal Veijo, and 
at the mouth of which there was an anchorage anciently known 
under the name of Nicon. The river here mentioned is not of 
very great magnitude, and was denominated by the author of the 
Periplus of the Red Sea as an " obscure stream." It is a curious 



246 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



fact, that the commerce carried on with all this great eastern 
horn of Africa, is the same that it was 2,000 years ago, with 
the exception that it is not now so great as it then was. Then, 
as now, however, slaves were a principal article of export.* 

In the parallel of 2° 1' 8" N., and in the meridian of 45° 19' 
5" E., we come to Magdosha or Mugdoxa, as it has been de- 
nominated by the Portuguese, which has a very large river 
known also under the name of Webbe, and Yass as it is de- 
nominated by Bruce, which enters the sea at this point. Abul- 
feda, on the authority of Ibn Said, calls the city from which the 
river takes its name Makdishu, and in the customary eastern 
phraseology he states that it is a branch of the Egyptian Nile ; 
and that it annually floods and overflows like that river. He 
further states, that the river rises in a lake called Kaura, a lake 
supposed to give birth to the Nile, and in fact to all the rivers in 
this quarter of Africa ; but the true meaning of which we now 
know to be merely that these rivers take their rise in the same 
district or quarter of Africa. The branches of the river 
mentioned, spring on the south side of the range of mountains, 
which give birth to some of the tributaries of the Nile ; and 
others of its branches rise to the eastward of H urrur, and 
to the south of Zeilah in the parallel of 10° N. lat. The 
different branches unite below Gunana, and thence pursue a 
S.E. course to the sea, in the words of Abulfeda, " near Mag- 
dusha." The length of this river will be about 550 geographical 
miles. Immediately under the Equator we have the town of 
Jubah, at the mouth of a very large river, which here enters the 
sea, and comes from the N.W. This is the Zebee or Kibbee, 
(the Acco of Bruce,) so called in the early part of its course 
from its colour resembling that of melted butter. The only 
account that we have of the upper part of this stream, is from 
some Portuguese ambassadors from the court of Abyssinia to 
that of Lisbon. They left Gondar in 1613, intending to pro- 
ceed southward to the Port of Melinda, on the Indian Ocean. 
They crossed the Nile south-west from Gojam, in the parallel 
of 10° N., and in the meridian of 36 J ° E. long. From this 
point they proceeded nearly south, crossing the river Maleg in 
its upper course, and the great central ridge which divides 

* Authorities for these sections — Bruce, Lord Valentia, Periplus? Red Sea, &c. 



GINGIRO — THE ZEBEE. 



247 



the African waters that flow in opposite directions, when they 
came to Narea or Enarea in about 7° 10' N. lat., and one of 
the most southern provinces of the Abyssinian empire. This 
province is very damp and marshy, being a wide extent of plain 
or table land, betwixt immense chains of mountains. At this 
point, secret enemies to their mission, instead of helping them 
forward to the south, and to Melinda, as was intended, got 
their journey directed eastward towards Cape Guardafui, in 
which intermediate space there being several Mahommedan 
States all very hostile to Roman Catholics, which they were, it 
was calculated that the ambassadors might be cut off. From 
Narea they accordingly proceeded in a direction about S.E. by 
E. to the kingdom of Gingiro. Five or six days' journey from 
Narea, and after crossing in the latter part thereof a very high 
mountain, they came to the river Zebee or Kibbee, as above 
mentioned. It ran with fearful rapidity betwixt high banks of 
solid rock, bearing in its stream a larger volume of water than 
the Egyptian Nile at the point where they crossed that river. 
The period, be it observed, when the passage of the river was 
effected was in the month of March, at the very close of the 
dry season in this part of Africa. This shows that the source 
of the Kibbee must be nearly 250 miles distant; for the 
Egyptian Nile had flowed through a greater length of course 
at the point where they had crossed it. The colour of the river, 
as has been stated, resembled melted butter. This is a curious 
and important fact, as it brings to our knowledge very distinctly 
the nature of the country in this portion of Africa, It must be 
all calcareous, and the river flowing over white calcareous and 
flinty rocks, with white sand, and constantly in a turbid state 
from the rapidity of the stream, will thus attain the appearance 
mentioned. This appearance is to be seen in many streams 
running through calcareous tropical countries. From Gingiro 
the travellers proceeded in an E.N.E. direction towards the 
kingdom of Bali. A day or two after leaving Gingiro they 
again crossed the Zebee, running with great rapidity, but not 
with such force as at the point where they first crossed it. Here 
they crossed the stream by means of cow hides inflated like 
bladders. After this, they came to the kingdom of Cambat, an- 
other of the most southern provinces of Abyssinia, and situated 



248 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



to the southward of the great dividing central ridge. From 
hence they proceeded to the Arab kingdom of Alaba, where 
they met with such a harsh reception that they were compelled 
to relinquish their journey and return into Abyssinia. From 
the point where the travellers last crossed the stream, the 
Zebee pursues its course S.E. to the Indian Ocean at the town 
of Jubah, above mentioned. The extreme length of the stream 
on the general bearing will be 700 geographical miles, which 
gives a river of great magnitude, and accordingly the people at 
Jubah report that the stream rises in Abyssinia, and is navi- 
gable for canoes to the distance of three months' journey. 

With regard to the nature of the country through which all 
the last-mentioned rivers run we know but little. It is 
inhabited throughout the courses of the Zebee and Webbe 
by the wild, and savage tribes of the Galla, which, during the 
last century, have overrun and ruined some of the finest pro- 
vinces of the Abyssinian empire. Their country throughout 
is exceedingly mountainous ; but, at the same time, fertile 
and fruitful wherever it is cultivated. Beyond the Abyssinian 
province of Damot is the territory of Conche, which is 
separated from Abyssinia by a broad and rapid river. The 
sovereign of this state is said to be rich and powerful, and 
capable of bringing into the field an army of 20,000 foot, and 
10,000 horse. The country of Narea is situated beyond 
Gongas, and is represented as a large plain or table-land, 
surrounded on all sides by high mountains. The country 
produces corn and cattle in abundance ; and gold in large 
quantities is found, and also brought from countries to the west- 
ward. Narea is amongst the most elevated countries in Africa. 
The separation of the waters to the north and to the south 
takes place in it. To the eastward of these people, nearly 
the whole of the great eastern horn of Africa is covered 
with Arab states, which, some centuries ago, were much more 
powerful and wealthy than they now are ; the power of these 
people everywhere decaying rapidly. One of the most 
important of these states was the kingdom of Adel. Betwixt 
this state and Abyssinia, in former times, were severe and 
numerous wars ; but the power of both has been so much 
weakened, that each of them is reduced to such a state of 



ANGOT — HERODOTUS ACCOUNT. 



249 



weakness as not to be able to withstand the power of the 
Gallas. This portion of Africa is a very interesting country, 
both as regards its climate, the soil, and the productions 
thereof. In ancient times, it was still more so, when it 
supplied myrrh and frankincense to the most civilized parts 
of the world. According to the author of the Periplus, one 
of the exports from it was sugar, made from the cane, and 
it was probably from this quarter that the " sweet cane," 
mentioned by the prophet Isaiah and also by Jeremiah (chap, 
vi. 20 — "sweet cane from a far country"), was brought. 

The kingdom of Angot, in Abyssinia, is described as being 
a very fine country, very fertile, and intersected by numerous 
beautiful streams, and having, from its great elevation, a 
very fine climate. It is reported that about the end of the 
twelfth, or the beginning of the thirteenth century, Lalibela, 
then sovereign of Abyssinia, attempted to dry up the Egyptian 
Nile, by turning the waters of its southern tributaries into 
other channels, and that he so far effected his purpose as to 
turn the course of two streams, which from that period have 
continued to flow into the Indian Ocean. His object was to 
destroy by this the Mahommedan power in Egypt, which at 
that time was harassing greatly the Abyssinian territories from 
the shores of the Red Sea. At what point this project was 
attempted, is not stated ; but the probability is, that it was made 
on the Nile itself on the south-east corner of the province of 
Damot. The general courses of the Nile to the north, and of 
the Zebee, &c. to the southward, were well known to the 
Egyptians 3,000 years ago. The sacristan of the temple of 
Minerva at Thebes, in Egypt, told Herodotus that half the 
waters of the Nile ran to the north, and the other half to the 
south, and that they were produced by the tropical rains. The 
course and sources of the Bahr el Abiad appear to have been 
better known at that time than they are at this day. Ptolemy 
Euergetes,when sovereign of Egypt, penetrated into the southern 
parts of Abyssinia, or, as it was then called, Ethiopia, which he 
conquered ; and he describes his passage in some places to have 
been effected over mountains deeply covered with snow. At 
the sources of the Nile the barometer, according to Bruce, stood 
at twenty and a half inches, which gives a very great elevation . 



250 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



He in fact estimates the elevation to be two British miles above 
the level of the sea. The rains in the southern and very moun- 
tainous parts of Abyssinia commence in April, cease about the 
8th of September, recommence about the 20th of October, and 
are constant but moderate till the first week of November, when 
they terminate. From the lat. of 4° N. to the lat. of 4° S., the 
rain falls throughout the year, but it is heaviest to the south 
when the sun becomes the second time vertical.* 

Proceeding southward from Jubah, we find, betwixt the 
parallels of 2° to 3J° S., that is, between Malemba and Patta, 
a large delta thickly intersected by streams, the estuaries of a 
large river, which, according to the authority of the Portuguese, 
as searched out by that excellent geographer D'Anville, are the 
mouths of the great river Quilimancy. This river, from the 
nature of the country and from the course represented by some 
maps on the authority of the Arabs, appears to take its rise to 
the south of the central chain of the Mountains of the Moon in 
about 3° N. lat., and 27° to 30° E. long. From this point it 
bends its course about S.E. by E. to the sea at the places men- 
tioned, in its upper course no doubt augmented by numerous 
streams flowing from the northward and the north-westward, 
and probably also some from the south-westward. Its extreme 
length will be about 900 miles, and flowing as it does through 
such a large portion of central Africa, all very mountainous, it 
must necessarily bring, as it is known that it does bring, to the 
sea a vast body of water. But of the countries throughout its 
course we have scarcely any knowledge. All accounts agree 
that, in about the meridian of 25° E. long., an elevated range 
runs south from 5° N. lat. to 24° S. lat., near the springs of the 
Orange River, and that this great range, called the spine of the 
world, divides the waters throughout the space mentioned, 
which flow west into the Atlantic from those which flow east into 
the Indian Ocean. It is in the northern portion of this great 
range, and no doubt forming part thereof, that Ptolemy places 
Mount Arangas, 14J° to the eastward of the middle of his 
Mount Araultes, which being unquestionably the high land to 
the eastward of the Cameroons, and taking the middle thereof 
to be in 11° E. long., will place Mount Arangas in E. 

* Authorities for these sections — Bruce, Portuguese Travellers, Periplus of the 
Red Sea, &c. 



OUARE — LIMMOU. 



251 



long., on the very meridian that the spine of the world is by all 
reported to be, and running directly north to the very centre 
of the El Komri range. This chain, therefore, and this point 
separates the waters which flow S.E. and S.W., or to the 
Quilimancy River on the one hand, and to the great river Zaire 
or Congo on the other. 

The Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Paris (Nos. 67 
and 68, of July, 1839) contains, from the pen of Mr. Jomard, 
some important information regarding several rivers in a portion 
of Africa situated considerably to the S.W. of Gingiro. The 
curious facts, about to be stated, have been furnished by a young 
Galla, named Ouare, a native of Limmou, and the son of 
an enterprising chief named Kilho, the sovereign of a country 
about W.N.W. from Limmou, called Dangab. About twenty 
years ago this chief conquered Limmou. In 1835, young 
Ouare left Limmou with a considerable trading caravan, con- 
sisting, as is customary in these parts, of a number of slaves; 
and entering Abyssinia, and crossing the Blue River in Damot, 
and again recrossing it near the south end of Lake Dambea, 
they proceeded on their journey betwixt Lake Dambea and 
Gondar, and thence in the ordinary route came to Khartoum, 
the place of his destination. The time occupied on this journey 
was four months, including ninety days (540 hours) of active 
travelling. In the days on which the caravan travelled, they 
made out from five to six hours daily, and sometimes more, 
which Mr. Jomard calculates, on an average from each day's 
journey, at 325 leagues ; and separately at 210 leagues, fifty- 
seven days from Gooderoo to Khartoum, and 115 leagues, 
thirty-three days, from Limmou to Gooderoo. The first part, 
however, of the journey would necessarily be more rapid 
than the last, because the parties would be less fatigued; 
therefore a greater distance must be allowed in an equal space 
of time, between Limmou and Gooderoo, than between Goode- 
roo and Khartoum, which will consequently place Limmou 
farther to the S. and W. than Mr. Jomard has placed it; and 
as, from the position of Gingiro, it certainly is. Averaging 
the distance travelled each day at ten geographical miles, 
would give in all 900, and the proportion of this between 
Limmou and Gooderoo would be 330 geographical miles, 



252 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



which will place Sobitche, the capital of Limmou, in the lati- 
tude and longitude after mentioned, even after a proper allow- 
ance is made for the considerable detour which, after crossing 
the river Wouelma, Ouare and the caravan took towards the 
east, before they began to proceed to the northward. The 
eastern detour taken in the space mentioned was to avoid 
obstacles in their way arising most probably from a range of 
hills to the northward of their route. The length of the route 
taken by Ouare from Gooderoo to Khartoum on the general 
bearing is 9° 50', or 590 miles. Now if this space was travelled 
over, as it was, in fifty-seven days, when all with the caravan 
were become excessively fatigued, more than a proportionable 
space must have been travelled over in the first thirty-three 
days, when all were comparatively fresh ; but even a propor- 
tional equal space will give 360 geographical miles nearly be- 
tween Gooderoo and Limmou, which will place Sobitche in 5o 
10' N. lat., and 32° 30' E. long. 

To the westward of Sobitche, the capital of Limmou, is the 
great river Habahia, running from the north to the south 
betwixt a chain of mountains ; and still farther west is the 
country of Wambar, north of which is Dangab ; and still more 
to the north another country, called also Gooderoo, all on the 
west side of the Habahia. These countries are very woody and 
mountainous, and the banks of the river are covered with very 
large bamboos, while the mountains produce cotton trees from 
ten to fifteen feet high. S.W. of Wambar, and also of Lim- 
mou, commences the country of the Shankallas, a nation of 
Blacks, considerably different from, and more rude than the 
Gallas. Proceeding from Sobitche to Gooderoo, Ouare first 
crossed the river Tchandi, next the Bowou ; and at a greater 
distance to the north, the river Wouelma. The near approach 
of these rivers to each other shows that they are as yet only in 
the early part of their courses, and the same also may be said 
of the Habahia. Proceeding eastward, Ouare traversed the 
country of Djedda, and then, towards the north, the great 
countries of Amourou, next that of Horro, next Gouma or 
Djima, next Kobbo, and then Gooderoo. Gingiro he knew, as 
he had been sent there to stop some mines. It lay to the right 
of his early route, that is, to the east of Limmou. Many rivers 



THE HABAHTA — THE CONGO. 



253 



rise in these parts, and flow to the Indian Ocean. In his route 
northwards through Djedda, &c, to Gooderoo, Ouare passed 
one large river, (this must be the Zebee) and some others, 
but he nowhere makes mention of having had to cross any very 
high mountains. 

The other countries mentioned by Ouare in the neighbour- 
hood of Limmou, to the E., S.E. and S., are laid down in 
the accompanying map, on the bearings and at the propor- 
tional distances in which Mr. Jomard has placed them. The 
mountainous country on the east bank of Habahia is peopled 
by a race of men called Gammodjis. The people of the plains 
are called Baddas. 

The Gallas of Limmou and the adjacent parts, are a brave 
set of men, with agreeable countenances. Their arms are a 
corset and a crooked sabre, a lance, &c, the former resembling 
the representations of those which are found in the ancient 
monuments of Egypt and Nubia. The dress of the men is a 
long piece of cotton cloth wrapped round the whole body, with 
a girdle and waistcoat, and a jacket a la romaine, extending 
down to the knee. They are all pagans ; the females have 
a special protectress, of the feminine gender ; and besides her, 
the male sex invoke a deity named Lambata, the females one 
named Marina, female children one named Gorobbe, and both 
sexes a superior divinity named Ouack. A year is termed bara 
and a month dja. 

The difficulties in Ouare's route were many and great, and 
the fatigues and privations experienced by the travellers in the 
caravan so severe, that one third of the slaves accompanying it 
died during the journey, showing a much greater mortality 
amongst the slaves in a portion only of what may be called the 
middle passage of this internal African slave trade than Mr. 
Buxton makes out on the middle passage of the European 
African slave trade. 

Between Amourou and Horro is a town named Daga, and 
to the right a mountain named Gambela. 

The next point for consideration is the great river Zaire or 
Congo. This important stream carries to the ocean a greater 
body of water than any other river, the Niger not ex- 
cepted ; although, from the tremendous rocks and cataracts 



254 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

throughout a space of forty miles, commencing at the distance 
of 140 miles from its mouth, it is rendered wholly unavailable 
for any purpose of internal navigation as connected with exter- 
nal trade. The magnitude of the stream shows that it must 
have numerous tributaries, and that the sources of these must 
be very remote. According to Tuckey (see p. 84), the true 
mouth of the river is at Fathomless Point. There " it is not 
three miles in breadth," the mean depth forty fathoms, and the 
mean velocity four and a half miles per hour. The proper 
breadth of the stream, however, may be reduced to two miles. 
The magnitude of the river, as stated by Tuckey, be it observed, 
was the magnitude of the stream at its very lowest, nearly at 
the close of the dry season. Here then is a river of a breadth 
at least equal, and a depth almost double, and with a current very 
nearly equal to, that of the united stream of the Niger between 
Iddah and Damuggoo, in the very height of the flood. Such 
is the force of the water of the Congo, that in the centre of its 
stream the current near its mouth forces its way for a consider- 
able distance against the whole strength of the tide of the 
ocean. The rise of the Zaire at its highest flood is, towards 
its mouth, about twelve feet, which is considerably less than 
the rise of the Niger (Laird, we believe, estimates this at 
eighteen feet), which may however be accounted for in this 
way, namely, because it does not sink so low from the effects 
of the dry season, having some of its tributaries to a con- 
siderable distance within the southern torrid zone, which will 
continue to supply its stream with a large quantity of water, 
while its more remote and powerful tributaries, situated in the 
northern torrid zone, are reduced from the effects of the dry 
season. Every third or fourth year, the river is stated to rise 
to a greater height than it does in the intermediate years. The 
river begins to rise about a month before the rains commence ; 
and, above the cataracts, Tuckey first perceived the beginning 
of its rise, which was slow, gentle, and gradual, on the 7th of 
September. This fact is an invincible proof that the chief 
source of the river is at least 4° or 5° to the N. of the equator, 
where the rains commence before the sun becomes vertical the 
second time ; the rains preceding his march generally about 
one month. In the course of a fortnight the river, near its 



THE CONGO. 



255 



mouth, had risen about seven feet. The slow and gradual rise 
of the river which Tuckey observed led him to form the 
opinion that the river issued from a lake ; but while this may 
partly be true, the gradual rise of the stream can be accounted 
for on generally more correct principles, namely, its very remote 
sources. Its early tributaries, becoming flooded a considerable 
time before any rain moves its lower tributaries, or is felt in its 
lower course, will by degrees extend, and, from various causes, 
lose their strength as they proceed, and, gradually and more 
gently merging in the stream, tend, as they are further in- 
creased by additional rains and additional tributaries, to pro- 
duce the gradual rise of the river, witnessed in its lower course. 
Moreover, it is well known that water every where tends to 
work itself clear, and that, where not defiled by a constant 
introduction of muddy particles, it gradually becomes clear. 
Throughout the distance of forty miles, as above stated, the 
cataracts and rapids extend. At Casan Yellala, the lowest 
and the first, the river is half a mile broad, and rocks stretch 
from the north side two-thirds of the whole width across the 
river. The channel on the south side is smooth, but the current 
is very rapid in it ; and immediately below this rapid the current 
breaks furiously on a ledge of rocks. (Tuckey, p. 145.) At 
the great fall of Yellala, a slate island in the middle divides 
the stream into two channels. The channel on the north side, 
when Tuckey saw it, was nearly dry. That on the south side 
held the whole river, and in which " the torrent rushes with 
great fury and noise over rocks. By marks on the slate island 
alluded to, the river must rise during the rains twelve feet ; then 
the whole of the island is covered, except the top of the rock, 
which is fifteen feet above the level of the stream when it is at 
its lowest point. When the river is in flood, the agitation of 
the river is dreadful at this point. (Tuckey, p. 147.) At ten 
miles above Mavoonda, and at a place named Sangalla, the 
river is compressed within the smallest space. It is here 
crossed by a great ledge of rocks, leaving only a passage close 
to the foot of the hill on the left bank, about fifty yards wide, 
through which the stream runs at least eight miles an hour, 
forming whirlpools in the middle, whose vortices occupy at 
least half of the channel," &c. Above, the river shews a broad 



256 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



expanse, but below, it is a rocky ledge. At the point where 
Tuckey turned back, about forty miles above this place, the river 
again expanded to the breadth of from two and a half to four 
miles, without any further obstruction in its course upwards; and 
the scenery around its banks, from having been below wild and 
barren, had become exceedingly fine and beautiful. The 
current, at the point where Tuckey quitted the river and turned 
back, was from two and a half to three miles per hour. 

The accounts which he received regarding the river upwards 
were that, at ten days' journey in a canoe above Mavoonda, there 
was a large sandy island, above which the river divided into two 
branches, one coming from the N. W. and the other from the N.E. 
Above this separation, there was no obstruction in the naviga- 
tion of the north-east branch, except at one place, where there 
were some rocks in its bed, but which, nevertheless, canoes 
could pass safely with proper precaution. At twenty days' 
journey N.E. from the island mentioned, the river was reported 
to issue by several streams from a large lake of mud ; and 
beyond this Tuckey could hear nothing further about it. The 
idea of a large river issuing from a lake of mud by several 
streams is so ridiculous as to be unworthy of attention. That 
there is a lake in that part — that the country around it is 
marshy — and that several streams run into the lake, instead of 
the river issuing from the lake in several streams, is all 
extremely probable ; and, in fact, is the true meaning of the 
accounts which the natives of Congo gave to Tuckey regarding 
the northern branches of this important river. We have, 
however, in these accounts, the facts of a north-eastern and a 
north-western branch. The Wole, which we learn from other 
authority is a large river, and flows to the eastward past the 
state of Kaybee, is another, a higher, and more important 
north-west branch, and which there is every reason to believe 
runs into the lake in question. Next, there is another branch 
from the N.W. which rises and runs to the east of the state of 
Okandee, and which must, from the direction it takes, join the 
river below the lake mentioned. According to maps of Africa, 
constructed upon the authority of other natives from these 
interior parts, there is another branch coming from the N.E., 
on the most south-western point of the Mountains of the Moon, 



THE CONGO. THE BARBELA, 



257 



and also a branch from the eastward, descending from the 
northern part of the Mount Arangas of Ptolemy. The features 
of the country render the accounts about these rivers not only 
probable but certain. From the south-east also, the Zaire, we 
know, receives several very powerful tributaries ; namely, first, 
that called the Barbela, which is represented by Portuguese 
writers to be as large as the Po of Italy in its lower course ; 
and next the Coango, a river of great magnitude, which comes 
from the south-east, and has its sources at a great distance, but 
its course is not accurately known. Beyond it, and from the 
eastward, the Zaire certainly receives some important branches ; 
but there is no accurate account to be had, either of their 
courses or of their magnitude. The whole of the rivers alluded 
to join to form the mighty river Zaire ; and yet after all, and 
viewing the space of Africa in which they are said to take their 
rise, and through which they flow, there appears no more than 
sufficient, in fact scarcely a sufficient space or number of tribu- 
taries to form this important stream. In truth, there is reason 
to suppose that the sources of all these tributaries, whether 
on the south or on the north, are still more remote than in the 
positions in which they are at present laid down ; in which 
case, as regards the northern ones, the most western branch of 
the Bahr el Abiad will, as is elsewhere stated, be shortened to 
the west, and more to the eastward extended to the south. The 
rocky ridge through which the Zaire, as Tuckey describes it, 
forces its way, rises to the elevation of about 2000 feet on each 
hand, in this point resembling the chain of hills through which 
the Niger bursts below the junction of the Shadda ; but 
without any rocky interruptions in its bed, such as are found 
in the Zaire. The country around the Zaire, so far as Tuckey 
ascended it, — a distance of about 280 miles from its mouth, — 
was thinly peopled, and barren and unproductive. 

Except at the points above-mentioned, the breadth of the 
Zaire through the cataracts and rapids extends generally from 
200 to 300 yards. The great volume of water, both above 
and below these cataracts, compared to the apparent volume 
which ran through the most contracted points in them, natu- 
rally excited surprise in the minds of Tuckey and his com- 
panions, and led them to conjecture that a great portion of 

s 



258 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the water found its way through subterraneous passages under 
these rocks. This is by no means improbable. The tremendous 
whirlpools which they found in the river where it began to 
expand beyond and to the westward of the rocky ridge, go in 
some measure to confirm this opinion. But there is another 
and still stronger reason to think that Tuckey's opinion is the 
fact. This is, that to the westward of this range of hills 
through which the Zaire forces its way, and generally through- 
out the interior of the country extending through Loango to 
the Atlantic, the whole surface of the earth seems to be 
placed over and to be moved by volumes of water, which 
frequently burst out and carry off large portions of the surface 
of the land. Still, however, the rapidity of the stream through 
these cataracts may account for the apparent difference ; for 
by the rule already stated, a stream running at the rate of 
ten miles an hour through a passage double the depth of the 
ordinary bed of the river will reduce a river three miles 
broad, and with a current of three knots an hour, into very 
narrow limits indeed; and, accordingly, this may actually 
occasion the apparent reduction of the breadth of the Zaire at 
the points mentioned. 

To the south of the Congo, or Zaire, the western coast of 
Africa is deeply intersected with rivers, the names of which at 
their mouths are only known to Europeans : some of them are 
of considerable magnitude, but none of them have courses of 
any great length, except the Coanza, the Cuanene, and the 
Orange River, which latter may be said to form the northern 
boundary of the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 
The Coanza is the largest of the three rivers mentioned. It 
has its sources at a considerable distance, and to the south- 
east of Cassange, in about 24° E. long., and 12° S. lat. The 
course is first north-west and then west into the Atlantic, nearly 
under the parallel of 9° S, lat. It has a great number of 
considerable tributaries, but the courses of the whole, as well 
as the countries around them, are imperfectly known. The 
geographical knowledge which the Portuguese had of these 
extensive countries was kept secret as much as possible, and 
has been in a great measure lost to the world. Their settle- 
ments in Angola, Congo, and Benguela, were, at one time, 



THE COANZA. — THE LUCALA. — MATTEMBA. 259 

flourishing and extensive ; but, unfortunately for themselves, 
and unfortunately for Africa, the discovery of the Brazils 
withdrew their attention from Africa and fixed it on South 
America ; after which, the labour which should have cultivated, 
and which would have, to a certain extent, civilized Africa, 
was withdrawn, at an enormous loss to Africa, and placed in 
America. The course of the Coanza has been traced to the 
distance of fifteen days' journey from the islands of Quindango 
in that river," and in the district of Mattemba, from which 
islands to Cabasa, the ancient capital of Ginga, is four days' 
journey north-east, and from that place to a branch of the 
Coanza is a journey of three and a half days in the same 
direction. The great kingdom of Moropooa lies between 
Cassange on the west and Cassembe in the east, and about the 
very middle of Southern Africa, under the parallel of 10° to 
12° S. lat. This state is represented as being very populous 
and powerful, and the people to be clothed in European manu- 
factures brought from the Portuguese settlements on the east 
coast of Africa, about Mozambique. The capital is large, 
with regular streets, which are watered daily and kept very 
clean. There are regular markets. The country is governed 
by a king and by a queen, who live at a considerable distance 
from each other, and only visit once in fifteen days. The name 
they bear is Muata ; and each sacrifice fifteen negroes daily 
at their respective residences. The river Lucala, which runs 
near this country, is stated to be a branch of the Coanza, and 
farther that canoes from Angola navigate up, first, the Coanza, 
and next the Lucala, The districts in these parts of Africa, 
and Mattemba and Cassange, were at one time overrun and 
subjected by a ferocious and savage people, called Jagas, or 
Giagas, who some centuries ago came from the neighbourhood 
of Sierra Leone and spread over Africa, carrying desolation in 
their progress. They seem to be a people of the same warlike 
and desolating disposition as the Tartars and Huns, which 
formerly desolated both Europe and Asia, but more brutal and 
more savage, inasmuch as they are stated to eat the captives they 
take in battle. They neither sow nor reap. Their women 
destroy their children as soon as they are born, that they may 
not be encumbered with them, and the army is recruited by 

s 2 



260 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



the youths of the nations which they subdue. Their power, once 
"so formidable — in fact, irresistible in Africa, is now greatly 
decayed ; like every power of a similar description, it becomes 
exhausted by its own ferocity, and folly, and mischief. 

The Coanza has a course on the general bearings of about 
600 geographical miles. The countries around it are generally 
very fine, fruitful, and populous, and abound with minerals cf 
various descriptions, and, under the direction of an enlightened 
and powerful country, the productions of this portion of Africa 
would add immensely to the wealth and the happiness of the 
human race. 

The Cuanene has its sources between the meridians of 16° 
and 18° E. long., and in the parallels of 12° 30' and 14° S. lat. 
It enters the sea under the name of Nouries River under the 
parallel of 17° 20' S. lat. It is a considerable stream, but the 
greater part of its course is unknown. During the dry season, 
the bed of the river at its mouth, though very broad, is almost 
dry. The waters that remain sink amidst and under the large 
bank of round stones and pebbles which are in it : thus many 
rivers sink in Africa. The country around it, but more especially 
between it and the sea, is very mountainous, and it is fair to pre- 
sume that the land, on its eastern banks, is of a similar descrip- 
tion. At some distance from its western bank, and in 14° S. 
lat., and in the meridian of 15° E. long., the Portuguese have 
a settlement called Caconda, which, from its considerable eleva- 
tion above the level of the sea, is very healthy, and the country 
around very pleasant and fruitful, yielding ready and large 
returns to the industrious cultivator. 

From the mouth of the Cuanene to the Fish River, in 
26° 30' S. Lat., the coast of Africa is very little known ; but 
the presumption is, that beyond the southern tropic the country 
in general is more destitute of rivers than it is to the north, 
and that the soil also is inferior. In the latitude of 28° 30' S. 
there is the mouth of the Orange River, about one mile broad, 
but upwards it soon ceases to be navigable, although, from its 
extreme source, the course of the river is nearly 700 geogra- 
phical miles, and the course nearly from east to west. The 
source of its principal branch is about 220 miles S.W. by W. 
of Delagoa Bay. The object of the present inquiry, however, 



THE ZAMBEZE. — SENNA. — TETE. 



261 



being the tropical rivers and countries of Africa, it is con- 
sidered foreign to the subject to introduce anything concerning 
the Cape of Good Hope and Africa to the south of the Orange 
River, more especially as almost every thing that could be 
stated regarding these parts is already well known to the 
public. 

The eastern coast of Africa beyond the Cape of Good Hope, 
has also numerous rivers, but the courses of all of these, with 
the exception of that one which enters the sea in Delagoa Bay, 
probably the Moriqua of the interior, are certainly short, and 
also scarcely at all known to Europeans. The first of import- 
ance and in magnitude is the Zambeze, which enters the In- 
dian Ocean by several mouths, between the parallels of 17° 30', 
and 18°30'S. lat. This is a large river, and has its principal 
sources in the centre of Africa, in about 27° E. long., some of 
them most probably adjoining those of the Coanza. From both 
the north and south sides it receives many tributaries, which 
run through interesting countries ; at least, from the little that 
we have heard concerning them, they must be so. One branch, 
the northern, or the Quilimane, is about one mile broad near 
the town, but upwards, and at the distance of about thirty-two 
miles in a straight line, it narrows to about twenty to thirty 
yards, and three days' journey from that point is the separation 
of the stream from the branch called the Luabo. The banks 
of this river are twenty feet high, yet they are all overflowed 
during the rainy season, which lasts from November till March : 
then the deep water channel extends one mile and a half 
broad. This river, above the separation of the Quilimane, is 
full of sand banks, or little islands, twenty feet high in the dry 
season, but all flooded during the rains. The current amongst 
them is exceedingly rapid during the dry season ; so much so, 
that a canoe can only make one mile and a half per hour 
against it. In this part of its course the bed is about one mile 
broad. Towards Senna, the country to the N.W. is very hilly. 
Below Senna, a river called the Shirry enters the Zambeze 
from the north, which river is said to be navigable for canoes 
to the distance of thirty days 7 journey. It is deep and rapid. 
Tete is sixty leagues beyond Senna — the passage to it occupies 
six weeks ; the town is built on a high ground near the Zam- 
beze, and the country around it is said to be very fine, healthy, 



262 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



and fertile. The whole navigation of the Zambeze is said to 
extend to 300 leagues upwards. The Portuguese settlements 
in these parts, once very considerable and flourishing, are now 
in a most deplorable state of decay ; yet an energetic govern- 
ment would soon bring them round, and make them more 
flourishing and wealthy than ever, as they have all the elements 
of tropical commerce and agriculture within them. Senna is in 
17° 30' S. lat, and 35° 38' 8"E. long. 

Beyond the Zambeze, to the north, the coast of Africa is 
thickly intersected with rivers, but they are all probably of 
little magnitude, until we pass Cape Delgado. There, almost 
under the parallel of 10° S. lat., the river Mongalla enters the 
sea, which river it is generally supposed flows from the great 
lake called Maravi, although there can be little doubt that con- 
siderable supplies also join it from the N.W. A considerable 
river enters the sea at Kulwa, or Quiloa, called the Cuaro, but 
scarcely any thing is known of its interior course. The next 
point of importance on the east coast is the island of Zanzibar, 
extending between 6° and 7° S. lat. It is forty-five miles long 
and fifteen broad ; very fertile and populous, containing several 
towns and about 200,000 inhabitants. It is subject to the 
Imaum of Muschat, and has a considerable trade, both with 
India and Arabia. Opposite to it, and on the shores of the 
continent, several rivers enter the sea, w T hich are in every pro- 
bability the mouths of one great river, the great drain of all 
that vast portion of Africa which may be said to extend from 
the branches of the Zambeze on the south to the branches of 
the Quilimancy on the north, and from the sources of the 
tributaries of the Congo or Zaire, and the Coanza on the west. 
An inspection of the map will show what a large space is here, 
as it were, empty, but which, from the scanty reports which 
have reached us, is most certainly studded with high moun- 
tains, and intersected by numerous powerful rivers; but we 
have no accounts that can enable us to lay them down with 
anything like geographical accuracy. At Port Dunford a large 
river enters the sea, but of its upward course scarcely any- 
thing is at present known. 

The population of almost all Southern Africa is sunk, if 
possible, into a lower depth of ignorance, superstition, and 
barbarity, than their brethren in the northern central parts. 



CASSEMBE. MOROPOA. — CASSANGE. 



263 



The little knowledge planted among them about three centu- 
ries ago by the Portuguese, after the first discovery of the 
western coasts, has continued to decay with the decay of the 
power of Portugal, and is now in their remaining settlements 
almost extinguished, even amongst the native population, and 
utterly gone in its effects on the native states which adjoin 
them. So also it may be said it is with regard to the Arab states 
on the east coast. The comparative civilization, and it was but 
comparative, which they spread in the days of their strength, 
from the Straits of Babelmandeb to the boundaries of Sofala, is 
now decreased with their power, till it has become as weak and 
enfeebled, as the civilization spread by the Portuguese around, 
and in their African settlements; but the elements for a better 
order of things remain, requiring only energetic, prudent, 
judicious, and powerful hands, to collect and call them forth. 
Nature has done every thing for Africa ; man nothing. Yet 
there is no other quarter of the world which abounds more with 
vegetable and mineral wealth than tropical Africa does ; no, 
not the most celebrated countries in either Asia or America. 
In southern Africa there are, moreover, several powerful native 
kingdoms and chiefs, which might, under prudent instruction 
and advice, be made the instruments of spreading cultivation, 
commerce, and civilization, in all these portions of Africa ; nor 
have they ever shown any indisposition to be thus instructed, 
when honestly and fairly treated, and their customs, and man- 
ners, and institutions, touched with a forbearing, a gentle, and 
a friendly hand. The religion which Europeans profess, 
teaches them that this is the course which they ought to pursue 
with respect to all mankind; and with untaught and ignorant 
savages, in particular, this should be their course and their 
conduct ; yet in almost every instance it has been the reverse. 
Like as in the northern parts, slavery as a domestic institution, 
and a foreign slave-trade, are universal. Some of the states, 
such as Cassembe, Moropooa, Cassange, &c. &c, have, how- 
ever, the rudiments of order to a certain and to a considerable 
extent established, and in operation amongst them. One 
dreadful evil afflicts Africa ; it is this — not one of her people 
seems to have the slightest idea of the value of time, and till 
they learn to appreciate this, they will never be brought to 



264 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



understand the sacred right of property, or the propriety of 
acquiring it by means of honest industry. 

The southern portion of Africa, extending south from the 
Mountains of the Moon, abounds with large fresh-water lakes. 
Besides that named Maravi, which is of great extent, and 
situate in that part of Africa to the north of the middle course 
of the Zambeze, there is one in about 20° S. lat. and 23° E. long., 
which, according to every account, is very large. There is said 
to be another in the course of one of the branches of the Zaire, 
and named Aquilunda, near the country of Matamba. Besides 
that lake through which the north-east branch of the Congo 
flows, and situated almost immediately under the equator, there 
is another, said to be of great magnitude, sixty days' journey 
due east of Pombo, a district in about 4° N. lat., and on the 
west side of the Congo, or Zaire. This distance would bring 
the position of the lake in question to be in 4° S. lat., and 
about 28° E. long. The interior of Southern Africa, there 
also is every reason to believe, is very mountainous, with large 
districts of what is called table-land, such as are met with in 
different parts of South America. In all these table-lands the 
climate is necessarily good, and there can be no doubt that the 
population in them is very considerable. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

It is a curious fact, and one well deserving notice and atten- 
tion, that the general rise of all rivers in Africa, from the 
tropical rains, is in every place equal and uniform. Thus, in 
Abyssinia, Bruce pointedly observes, that the marks on the 
banks of all the rivers, great or small, indicated the rise at the 
height of the flood to be twenty feet. Dr. Holroyd clearly 
states that the average rise of the Blue River is twenty feet. 
Laird states this as the height of the flood in the Niger. Park 
found this to be the height of the flood in the Senegal and its 
numerous tributaries. De Caille found this to be the height of 
the flood in the Mandingo tributaries to the Joliba. The British 
officers who lately visited the Zambeze found that the height of 
the flood was the same in it, namely, twenty feet. There are 
occasionally remarkable seasons and extraordinary natural 
causes operating, which produce larger floods, but it is clear that 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



265 



these are not frequent, and that they are exceptions to the 
general rule, namely, that the fall of water yearly throughout 
Africa is uniform. Excessive floods recur every four years. 

Many nations in the interior parts are exceedingly anxious 
to open up a commercial communication and intercourse with 
the kingdoms and states of Europe, and especially with 
England. Dupuis (p. li.) assures us that this was the anxious 
wish of the sovereigns of Dagomba, Ghunjah, and Zogho. 
The Sultan of Sackatoo, the chief of Bornou, &c, expressed 
themselves in a similar manner. The price of various de- 
scriptions of human food in Africa is exceedingly favourable 
for procuring labour at a low rate. De Caille, when at Jinne, 
could purchase as much butcher's meat for forty cowries (two- 
pence) as would dine four persons; and Laing tells us that, 
when in the countries to the eastward of Sierra Leone, he 
could live like a prince for four-pence* sterling per day ! By 
means of the Niger and its tributaries, Africa may be pene- 
trated to its deepest recesses : westward from Benin to Cou- 
rouassa, by the Niger itself ; eastward, by means of the Shadda, 
the territory of Bornou could be readily reached ; and by the 
same channel the extreme sources of the Bahr el Abiad, the 
Shary and the Congo could be gained, From the bay of 
Howakil and Zeilah the interior parts of Abyssinia could be 
reached without difficulty ; from Berbera the eastern horn of 
Africa could be deeply penetrated ; and by means of the 
Zebee and the Quillimancy, the extreme sources of these rivers, 
and the Bahr el Abiad and others ; the countries of Gingiro, 
Enarea, and Limmou could easily be gained. The population 
in all those quarters is very great, and metals and minerals are 
abundant. To the south of the Congo large deep rivers, such 
as the Coanza and Cuanene, penetrate deeply into tropical 
Africa on the west ; and to the south of the Quillimancy, on 
the east coast the Zambeze, and other very large streams, 
lay open the African continent to an immense extent. Why 
is it that European nations do not take advantage of these 
numerous and extensive channels in order to extend their 
trade and commerce, and with these industry, knowledge, 
civilization — Christianity in Africa? 

There is a good deal of confusion in De Caille's narrative 



266 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



about the true position of Jinne. He states that, after cross- 
ing the river at Cougalia, and travelling about six miles 
"W.N.W., he crossed one stream, and soon after another 
stream, both fordable, the first the deepest, and then entered 
Jinne, situated on the bank of the second. The Joliba, he says, 
appeared at ten miles distance to the west. On leaving Jinne 
in the canoe, they went, it would appear, by the arm last men- 
tioned, westward to the Joliba, and thence by an arm or 
branch to Cougalia. In their progress, he says expressly that 
they were aided by the current, which clearly establishes the 
point, that the arm or branch by which he went to Cougalia 
flowed from the Niger to the Kowara Ba. There is no other 
way of making out, in a satisfactory manner, what is the true 
meaning of his narrative, except the view which has been here 
taken. The fact, that he went, first to the Joliba, and next 
from the Joliba with the current of the branch alluded to, 
enables us to ascertain and to determine this point. 

According as Ptolemy's geography has come to us, there is 
an error of no less than 12° 52' 33" between Ferro and Alex- 
andria, his first meridian. Alexandria he places, or is made 
to place, in 60° 30' E. from Ferro. Now, Ferro is in 17° 44' 
(west point) W. long., and Alexandria in 29° 53' 27" E. long., 
together 47° 37' 27"; thus showing an error as above 
stated of 12° 52' 33". The points where this error is obvious 
are in his positions of Cape Verde, lying in 10° E. long, 
from Ferro, whereas it is only 3°, This makes his space 
between Mount Mandrus and Cuphse, the position of modern 
Timbuctoo, 7° wrong, while his position of the Nigrites Palus, 
clearly Lake Dibbie, is wonderfully correct in longitude, 
namely, 15° east of Ferro, (2° 44' W. of Greenwich,) and in 
lat. 18° N., not very far wrong. His accuracy also in the 
position of Mount Mandrus, clearly the high mountains south 
of Walet, namely 14° E. long., or 1° W. of the Lake Nigrites, 
is equally, or still more remarkable. His space again between 
the Nigira metropolis, 17° 45' lat. N., and 25° 20' E. long., 
and his Gira metropolis, 18° 20' N. lat., and 36° E. long., 
10° 40', is exceedingly correct. The remaining portion of the 
general error, 12° 52' 33', or 5° 52' 33", is found to be between 
his Gira metropolis, the Lybian Lake, and thence eastward to 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 267 

Alexandria ; in other words, he makes the desert between Lake 
Lybia and Lake Nuba and the Nile 5° 52' 33" too broad, other- 
wise his positions are, in some instances, wonderfully correct. 
In his geography, Ptolemy lays down different places thus : 





Lat. 


Long. 




Garamantican Rampart 


. 10° N. 


50° E. 


from Ferro, 






38° E. 






. 3°N. 


33° E. 








47° E. 


j> 






33° E. 


M 






36° E. 


55 



In order to give these places their true positions, and 
to correct the error in Ptolemy's longitudes ; besides the 
positions of the places already adverted to, which the natural 
features enable us to ascertain clearly, we have two other 
points which enable us to correct the positions of different 
places. The one is by Ptolemy himself, which places his Gira 
metropolis one hour and one-eighth in time, 16° 52', west of 
Alexandria ; or, as regards the longitude, as nearly as possible 
in the place where Gamberou, or Old Birnie, now stands. 
A river which runs to the Niger, near Panagra, has its source 
in the Usurgala mountains, in 3° west of this place, and above, 
and a little to the west of Agadez. Secondly, we have the 
correct position (centre) of the high land of Cameroons, clearly 
his Mount Arualtes, viz. 11° E. long. His Mount Thala is 
5° east of this, which brings it exactly to the Mandara range. 
Next, his Garamantican rampart is in 50° long., or 17° east of 
Mount Arualtes, which will bring the former to 28° E. long., 
which we find is very correct ; and lastly, his Mount Arangas 
is 14|° east of Mount Arualtes, which will bring its true 
position to be 1° 30' N. lat., and 25|° E. long., the deter- 
mination of which positions and points is highly satisfactory. 
If we take the distance of Mount Thala from his Gira metro- 
polis, or Gamberou, or Old Birnie, we have just two degrees 
corresponding with the other ; and if we take the position of 
Mount Arangas from the position of his Gira metropolis, or 
Old Birnie, we have 12° of difference, bringing Mount 
Arangas also to the same point as by the former calculation, pro- 
ceeding from the fixed point of the high land at Cameroons. 



268 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAP. 

The narrative is accompanied by a map, drawn first upon a 
large scale, forty-five geographical miles to one inch ; subse- 
quently reduced to its present size, and next engraved and 
published under the hand of one of the best geographers in 
Europe, Mr. John Arrowsmith. It may here be necessary to 
state, shortly, the manner in which the map was constructed. 
My mind was made up to judge for myself ; and whatever labour 
it might cost, to be satisfied on every point. The labours and 
speculations of geographers, or writers on African matters 
previous to this day, were brought into aid. The accounts of 
travellers, ancient or modern, that were known, or that came in 
my way, were carefully and separately examined ; their state- 
ments retained or rejected, according as these agreed with 
themselves as a whole ; or, as they stood the test of rigid exa- 
mination when contrasted with others. The bearings and 
distances given in each were all carefully considered, as these 
were found to be given when travelling from different points in 
Africa to other points in Africa. Every one of these journeys 
were then protracted upon a large scale, and afterwards reduced, 
combined, and connected, by which means, with the aid of one 
or two fixed points, and a few more stated positions in which 
there could be no great error, one traveller and writer was made 
to check the other, and sometimes themselves. Great care has 
been taken to point out what the native travellers really did 
state, or intended to state, and not that which they have been 
in too many instances made to state. In this way the true 
meaning of many apparently confused narratives, the erroneous 
speculations and conclusions of others, and the wrong positions 
taken by nearly all, were clearly demonstrated and ascertained. 
The day's journey and the day's travelling are two different 
things ; and differing still more according as these relate to 
the countries in the mountainous and cultivated parts ; or, to 
the Great Desert; and also to the dry season or to the wet 
season. These important points were minutely attended to, 
and the correct meaning of the travellers or writers in these 
points also ascertained, by comparing them with others. Much 
care was taken to find out whether the journey under consider- 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAP. 269 

ation was undertaken with a caravan, or by an isolated traveller, 
or by a small party of travellers, on foot or on horseback ; and 
whether the time taken on the whole was the time actually 
travelled, or the time travelled including also that devoted to 
rest. Thus, three months' journey from one place to another 
gives quite a different distance to ninety days actually travelled, 
because the former often includes the time the traveller takes 
to rest on his journey, which is on an average perhaps from one- 
third to one-fourth of the whole. In like manner the estimated 
ninety days' journey gives a very different distance made good 
to the space actually travelled during that space of time. Some- 
times the time from place to place is given without stating that 
in that period is included the time in which the traveller rests, 
and sometimes the distance is given to the capital of the state 
or country, and at other times only to the frontiers of the state. 
A day's journey by Arab and Moor estimation of distance is 
about 15| geographical miles made good on the general 
bearing, whereas the space actually travelled, especially in the 
mountainous, uncleared, and uncultivated and river countries, 
does not, particularly in the rainy season, exceed ten geographi- 
cal miles on the general bearing, and frequently much less. In 
stating, by narrative, the distance from place to place, the Moor 
and African traveller frequently or generally uses the former 
calculation, namely, fifteen to sixteen geographical miles, and 
it consequently becomes of great importance to ascertain whether 
in such narratives it is this scale, and the time allowed for 
resting, or the time, not including stoppages, which is in- 
tended; or if it is the rate and time actually travelled from 
place to place which is meant ; and, further, if it is the time 
taken to travel to the capital of any country, or only to the 
frontiers of any country, that ought to be taken as the meaning 
of the informant, or the correct information obtained from them. 
Want of proper attention to these points has led into numerous 
and great errors in African geography, and which preconceived 
opinions, obstinate theories, and prejudices, tended still further 
to distort and confound. 

Lander, in the following passage, places this point properly 
before us : " The reports of the natives, whether owing to the 
difficulty of expressing themselves so as to be understood by a 



270 



GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



stranger, or from other causes, vary considerably. I should 
conceive that the former is the chief reason of this difficulty so 
often complained of ; and that, in their relations of rivers and 
streams, the natives do not designedly deceive, but the inter- 
rogator, taking no pains to obtain a clear idea of their meaning, 
forms an opinion of his own, which he fancies approaches 
nearest to that which his informants themselves entertain." — 
Lander, vol. ii. p. 146. 

All these important points, however, have in the present in- 
stance been very carefully attended to, and the result has been 
not only eminently satisfactory, but such as never was at the 
outset anticipated it could be. The repeated journeys of Park, 
that of Laing, De Caille, Mollien, and the itineraries obtained 
by Bowditch and Dupuis, &c, were severally protracted in the 
manner alluded to, and the positions of places and the courses 
of rivers thus clearly and satisfactorily found ; although, as re- 
gards the western rivers of Africa, and the positions of places 
to Timbuctoo, I found, when I had finished my inquiries, that 
the vast labour might have been spared by taking Mr. Arrow- 
smith's last map, so far as it relates to the western rivers, the 
Senegal, Gambia, &c, and also to the great space between the 
Atlantic and Timbuctoo, especially in the position of that 
celebrated town ; for I found, after the closest investigation, that 
there was not more than thirty miles difference in longitude ; 
while the palm of accuracy is readily yielded to his researches 
in preference to my own ; thus placing Timbuctoo in 17° 10' N. 
lat., and 3° W. long, instead of 2° 30' W. long, and 17° 40' N. 
lat. The Nile, with the exception of some of its most remote 
tributaries, and also the coasts of the Mediterranean, are also 
from Mr. Arrowsmith. 

There is another point which, in considering the narratives 
and statements of Moor and Arab travellers and writers, 
requires to be most carefully attended to, and corrected by 
different references and narratives; and that is the bearings 
which they give, or which the European ear or narrator gives, 
to the information drawn from them. These, in very many, 
and in most important cases, are just the reverse ; that is, we 
shall say S.W. instead of N.E. : pages might be filled with 
these errors. But take the following : — Lyon was told (see 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAP. 



27 1 



page 127,) that Oonghor, or Oongooroo, was fourteen days' 
journey E. by S. of Bornou (New Birnie), whereas it is W. by 
N. He was also told that Guber was three days S.W. of 
Saccatoo, whereas it is three days to the N.E. Browne was 
told that Wara lay N.E. from Dar Ruma, whereas it is S.W. 
So also, Mesna, the capital of Bagherme ; it is S.W. from 
Fittre, instead of being N.E. By not detecting these errors s 
proved by subsequent travellers to be so, Major Rennell 
carried Bornou to 24° N. lat., whereas, taken as it is stated 
with the distance and bearing from Mesna to Dar Kattakou, 
the frontier Province of Bornou to the west of the Shary, five 
or six days west, and next, thirteen north (the remainder of 
the time given by Browne,) to old Birnie, we find the whole 
exactly as Denham, &c. found them. As regards one Kuku, 
Caugha, or Cooka (not the Kuku of Edrisi, situated twenty 
days' journey north,) it is found on the river, and in a position 
far to the south, as Ibn Said had stated it to be, namely, 
10 8 N. lat. It is, in all probability, still further south than 
it has been placed in the map accompanying this work. Ibn 
Said is probably nearest the truth. 

It is also customary with Arab travellers and writers to 
describe as islands countries situated within or at the forks 
of rivers, or that are nearly encompassed by rivers. Another 
important point is that, unless checked, and specially 
questioned in their narratives and relations, they put the 
geographical bearing of the bed of the river for the course 
of the current, which reverses our manner of stating the 
fact. Thus, they say, that the Egyptian Nile goes to Abys- 
sinia ; we know that it comes from that country. They, 
moreover, often in their narratives, oppose right and left 
banks of a river, &c. to what we would state these to be. 
Thus, in describing the right, they always speak of the right 
hand, or what is to the right hand of their position, in 
reference to their face being turned towards Mecca. Attention 
to all these points will tend to elucidate many apparently 
irreconcilable statements in the information given by these 
people ; and attention to them would also have prevented 
many errors into which geographers have fallen in their 
African geographical dissertations and speculations. This 



272 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 

mode of reversing positions and courses of rivers is not con- 
fined to Moors and Arabs. We find it in many European 
books, where, describing the bearing of one place from another, 
the writer, in his mind, is walking to, or starting from, the 
wrong point. Oldfield says of Kirree, that it is 6° 6' lat. 
south of the equator instead of north, and of the branch of 
the Niger above Eboe which runs to Benin ; he says, p. 137, 
"supposed to run from Benin." So Clapperton, p. 155, says 
of the river of Guari, it " rises a day's journey in the moun- 
tains and hills south of Guari, runs through part of Zamfra, 
&c, and enters into the Koodonia in NyfFe," whereas the 
course is just the reverse; so also with the river Akkeni, 
he states it to run N.W. to the Lagos river, whereas it 
must be S.E. Of the river which flows from the Niger on 
the east side above Kirree, Laird and Oldfield were told 
that it went to Fundah ; whereas, could it possibly be con- 
nected with that place, it must come from it. 

It is only necessary to observe further, that complete 
geographical accuracy is not pretended to in the map accom- 
panying the subsequent narrative. In the present state of 
our African knowledge, and with days' journeys as the only 
means of fixing the positions of countries, places, and rivers, 
perfect accuracy is unattainable. The object held in view 
was to present to the public a rational, and as nearly as 
possible, a correct delineation of the great physical features 
of Africa; this it is presumed and hoped has been done, with no 
material error in the general delineation of her great rivers and 
ranges of mountains, &c. &c Considering the confused materials 
which could only be obtained to work with ; a survey, so perfect 
as that now produced, was not calculated upon ; but labour, 
thought, and patience, have done more than was anticipated, 
and completed a delineation of Africa, which it is hoped future 
accurate researches, and future information, may probably look 
at with advantage. 

In no portion of the work were there more difficulties to 
encounter in constructing the map, than in that portion thereof 
which had to delineate the course of the Niger above the Delta, 
and from thence to Rabba. There was little or no agreement 
amongst the different authorities. It therefore became neces- 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAP. 



273 



sary to collate and check the whole. For this purpose, the 
general delineation of the river is taken from Captain Beecroft's 
Minute Survey, extending from the mouth of the Nun, to the 
junction of the Shadda ; but the longitudes and latitudes are, 
as regards the latter, taken from his and other accounts ; 
and as regards the former, from the accounts of native travel- 
lers, but especially from the bearings given, and distances 
calculated, according to the time occupied by Lander and Old- 
field, and all of which a strict inquiry shows to be generally 
correct. Subsequent to the construction of the map, the 
kindness of Captain Beaufort of the Admiralty, put into my 
hands the chart, constructed by Lieutenant Allen, of the 
Niger, from the sea to Rabba. In this such a great dis- 
agreement from Beecroft, Oldfield, and others appears, as 
satisfies me that the course pursued has been the safest 
and the best. Thus, Captain Beecroft lays down Eboe in 
6° E. long., and the junction of the Shadda in 6° 15 7 ; whereas 
Lieutenant Allen places the former in 6° 25', and the latter in 
7° 8'; but he states, in an article inserted in the journal of the 
Royal Geographical Society, already specially alluded to, that 
his observations as to the longitude of Stirling, varied from 
3' to 16'. Mr. Hill's journal places Kirree in 6° 1' N. lat. 
Captain Oldfield's journal has it in 6° 6'; which, he says, he 
obtained from Lieutenant Allen on the spot. This has been 
retained as the most correct. In Lieutenant Allen's chart, 
already alluded to, he places Kirree in 6° \2' 30" N. lat. 
In this chart, however, I was pleased to observe the " mouths 
of the Coodonia" laid down joining the Niger above Egga, 
instead of coming from Lake Shad, and running to swell the 
Shadda by Jacoba; thus showing that the theory promulgated in 
England, is quite different from the accounts which appear to 
have been collected in Africa. In this chart, moreover, there 
appears to be no branch above Eboe laid down running to the 
westward. The mouths of the Niger and the Delta have been 
taken — the coast, from the late survey by Captain Owen, and the 
rivers, or rather branches, and their numerous intersections, 
have been copied from excellent charts, constructed from actual 
surveys of that portion of Africa by the following navigators ; 
viz. Bosman, 1702; Matthews, 1776; Clemmisson, Norris, 

T 



274 GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF AFRICA. 



Woodville, and T. Clarke, 1780 ; Fairweather and Latham, 
1790; Penny, &c; and also from the written and oral com- 
munications of various individuals, who have, within the last 
thirty years, been in that quarter. While these sheets were in 
the press, and the map under engraving, I have had the pleasure 
to learn from Mr. Oldfield, who has but lately arrived from that 
coast, that the delineation of the New Calabar, and the inter- 
sections or creeks between it and the Nun, through most of 
which he had actually been in his last visit to these parts, are 
correct ; and moreover, as I had stated from other authorities, 
that the whole space between the Bonny and the Old Calabar, 
is a delta, through which various branches or creeks run from 
the one to the other. 

On reviewing and reconsidering the whole work, it is con- 
ceived probable, that the day's journey in Ashantee and the 
adjoining districts may have been too much restricted, say to 
the extent of one mile daily, which if it has been so, will 
so far proportionately alter the positions in these quarters 
of Africa, and carry the Jibbel Sargha mountains and sources 
of the Rio Volta, &c. &c. about thirty miles more to the 
north. But this is the utmost that can be allowed, and even 
this is perhaps unnecessary, or too much. The chain of which 
the high land of Cameroons is the termination, will be found 
to run in a zig-zag direction in about the same parallel 
eastward by the sources of the Cameroons, the Congo, the 
Shadda, the Bahr el Abiad, &c. to about 30° E. long., whence 
it will run along north-easterly by the sources of the Habahia, 
the Zebee, and branches of the Bahr el Azreek, to the sources 
of the Ha wash ; from whence it will branch off in one direction 
to Cape Babelmandeb, and another to the Capes Guardafui 
and Ras Halfoon. 



275 



APPENDIX. 



Here it may be proper and useful to give, from various authori- 
ties, the distances, and the bearings, where these are given, betwixt 
one place and another, in Central, Eastern, and Northern Africa. 

NORTH OF THE NIGER, ETC. 

Morocco to Cairo, 6 months caravan, 4 months special messenger. 



Morocco to Tripoli 40 days' journey. 

Asben to Cairo 3 months' ,, 

Jekky to ditto 100 days' ,, 

Akom to Bedawa 33 ,, „ 

Akom to Waday 50 

Bedawa to Cairo 2 months' „ 

Bornou to ditto 3 „ „ 

Waday, or Dar Saley, to Egypt 53 days' ,, 

Kashna to Darfur 2 months' 

Benin to Cairo, special messenger 5 ,, 

Benin to Bornou, by land and water 75 days' „ 

Benin to Abyssinia, ditto 100 ,, ,, 

Bedawa to Gulf Sydra 1 month's ,, 

Asben to Tripoli 50 days' „ 

Mourzook to Gulf Sidra 18 ,, ,, 

Mourzook to Tripoli 25 ,, ,, 

Asben to Tunis 2 months' ,, 

Agadez to Timbuctoo (Ben Ali) 55 days' „ 

Agadez to Salt Lake Domboo (Casav.) 45 ,, ,, 

Bornou, old Birnie, to Bagherme (Beaufoy) S.E. ... 20 „ „ 

Cubcabea to Bornou by Wara, (Browne) 60 „ „ 

Mourzook to Bornou (Ledyard) , 660 geographical miles. 

Mourzook to Agadez (ditto) 479 „ 

Agadez to Kashna (ditto) 17 days' journey. 

Mourzook to Agadez (by other authorities; 47 „ „ 

Mourzook to Bornou (Burkhardt) 50 ,, ,, 

Mourzook to Bornou (other authorities) 52 ,, 

Tripoli to Timbuctoo (Ritchie) 1260 geog. miles ... 80 ,, „ 
Senega], Kaignu above Gallam, to Timbuctoo, 

(LeBrue) 34 ,,, 

T 2 



276 



APPENDIX. 



Senegal, Kaignu, to Timbuctoo by Labat 32 days' journey 

Fort St. Joseph to Timbuctoo, by Tisheet & el Arroan 48 „ „ 

Santa Cruz to Wednoon, by Mogadore (Park) 20 „ „ 

Wednoon to Benown (Benown from Tisheet 10) ... 30 „ „ 

Mourzook to Timbuctoo (by Ben Ali) 64 „ „ 

Agadez to Kano (Leo and Joanes Bleav) 160 leagues. 

Timbuctoo to Kashna, east (Rees' Encyclopaedia)... 690 miles. 

Lake Fittre to Shary (Bowditch) 12 days' journey 

Kashna to Zegzeg (Leo, &c.) 150 miles. 

Bornou to Kano 30 days' journey 

Kano to Saccatoo (Lander) 20 „ 

Arguin to Hoden, easterly 7 „ „ 

Tegazza to Timbuctoo (Leo) 500 A. miles. 

Baderma to Segelmessa (Batouta) 70 days' journey 

Fezzan to Timbuctoo 90 

Ghadames to Agadez 48 „ „ 

Mourzook to Gannat 14 „ „ 

Gannat to Assouda 17 „ „ 

Assouda to Agadez 17 „ ,, 

Agadez to Kashna 255 miles. 

Ghadames to Twat (Rennell) S.W 20 days' journey. 

Kano to Kashna (Bowditch) 10 „ „ 

Yaoora to Kano (ditto) 28 „ „ 

Yaoora to Bornou (ditto) 52 „ „ 

Yaoora to Goober (ditto) N 10 „ „ 

Kashna to Myffe, by Saccatoo (Lyon) 17 „ „ 

Kashna to Nyffe, by another road (ditto) 20 „ „ 

Kashna to Asben (Dupuis) 40 ,, 

Asben to Mourzook (ditto) 40 „ „ 

Taudeny to Tarudent, Morocco (ditto) 50 „ „ 

Taudeny to Taffilet, ditto (ditto) 50 „ „ 

Old Germa to Agadez (Edrisi, bearing by Beaufoy, 

SS.W.) 37 „ 

Dar Saley to Mourzook (Burkhardt) 52 „ „ 

Benown to Morocco (Park) 50 „ „ 

Kashna to Fittre (Rennell, but wrong) 40 ,, „ 

Oongoroo to Bornou, 9 on horseback, (Bowditch)... 15 „ „ 

Obeidh to Shendy (Burkhardt) 14 „ 

Saccatoo to Adia (Clapperton) N 6 „ „ 

Nikky to Gamberou 42 „ „ 

Mourzook to Cairo (Browne) 50 „ „ 

Dongola to Zagawa (Abulfeda) S.W 30 „ „ 

Zagawa to Angimi (Edrisi) W 6 „ „ 

Anay to Bornou (Denham) 27 „ „ 

Agadez to Salt Lake, Bornou (Rennell) 40 „ „ 

Cobbe to Dar Kulla (Rennell, &c.) 40 to 45 „ „ 



APPENDIX. 



277 



Wara to Bahr el Ghazelle (Lyon) 7 days' journey S.W. 

Wara to Fittre (ditto) 5 or 6 „ „ S. 

Wara to Caugha (ditto) 6, 7, or 8 „ „ S.W. 

Tegerby to Bilma (ditto) 20 „ „ S. 

Mourzook to Kashna (ditto) 56 „ „ 

Gago to Goober (Leo) 100 leagues. 

Senaar to sources of Bahr el Abiad (Ledyard) 55 days' journey. 

Dongola to Ghana, country (Edrisi) 66 „ ,, 



PLACES SOUTH OF THE NIGER, ETC. 



Timbuctooto Melli (Cadamosto) S.W 

Wooili to Sego (Rennell, Park. p. 400) 

Ghonjah to Kashna (Sheerif Iuhammed) 

Ghonjah to Sea Coast, through Tonouma (ditto) ... 

Yarribah to Ghonjah, N.W 

Inta or Tonouma, to Timbuctoo (Bowditch) 

Kong to Jinne (ditto) 

Coomassie to Yakua or Yakoo (Dupuis) 

Nikky to Gambaroo (ditto) 

Benin to Yaoori (ditto) 

Benin to Kashna (ditto) 

Coomassie to great fair at Gd. Hamed Mousa, in 

Suse Morocco (Dupuis) 

Yaoori to Kashna, 1st Konbash country ... 7 days 

Ditto 2d Gharanti 5 " 

Ditto 3d Yantoro 5 " 

(Dupuis, p. 136) 4th Kashna 7 " 

Greghwee to Fillanee, Province (Robertson) 

Yaoori to Ghororaa, Magho, W. by S. (Dupuis) ... 

Salagha to Ghoroma, to right of north (ditto) 

Deboia, capital, Gobago to Yaoori (ditto) 

Magho to the mountains of Fagh (ditto) 

Salagha, through Nikky to Niger near Yaoori 

(thus : — Salagha to Nikky 26 journeys. 

Nikky to Niger, 12 or 13.) 
Niger at Yaoori, through that state to Goober 

(Bowditch) 

Goober to Kassina, cross a large river, and skirting 

Zamfra (Bowditch) ... 

Timbuctoo to Bitoo (Le Hadge Mahommed) 

Sego to Jinne, 4 by water, by land (Dupuis) 

Yandi to Abomey (ditto) 

Yandi to Benin (ditto) 



30 days' journey, 

36 „ „ 

97 „ 

46 „ „ 

38 „ ,, 

42 „ 

42 „ 

70 „ 

42 „ 

36 „ 

40 „ 

130 „ 



24 
40 
30 
24 
40 
34 
38 



10 

8 
46 
10 
13 
28 



278 



APPENDIX. 



Coomassie to Soko Aila, N.W. cap. of Enkassi 

(Dupuis) 16 days' journey. 

Soko Aila to Kong (Dupuis) 6 „ „ 

Yarribah to Ghonjah (Inhammed) 18 or 20 „ „ 

Kong to Rio Pongos, across a great river (Bowditch) 2 months' journey. 

Dahomey to Nikky 15 days' „ 

Coomassie to Aughgoa cap. Moushee (Dupuis) „ 25 ,, 

Abomy to Niger, or Benin river, east (ditto) 14 „ „ 

Dagwumba to Yaoori (Bowditch, p. 200) 42 „ „ 

Silla to Timbuctoo (Park) 14 caravan journeys. 

Timbuctoo to Jinne (Wargee) 25 journeys. 

Sego to Jabowa (Bowditch) 40 days' journey. 

Sego to Bambook (ditto) 43 ,, „ 



PARK'S JOURNEYS. 

FIRST JOURNEY. DRY SEASON. 





Days. 


Hours. 


Miles. 


Bearings. 


Lat. 




2 


6 


12 


S.E. by E. 


13° 


35' 




1 


5 


10 


E. 








1 




5 


E. a N. 








1 


5§ 


11 


ditto 


13° 


49' 




1 


3 


6 


E. a S. 








1 


2 


11 


E. by S. 






Kola 


1 


5 


10 


E.N.E. 








1 


n 


11 


S.E. by E. 






Tambakunda to Kooniakary 


1 


5 


10 


E. by N. 








1 


3 


6 


E. \ N. 








1 


13 


26 


E. by N. 








1 


4 


8 


E. 








1 


4 


8 


E. \ N. 






Ganada to Koorkoorany ... 


1 


n 


9 


E.S.E. 


13° 


53' 




1 


1 


2 


E. by N. 








1 


4| 


9 


E. \ N. 








1 


7 


14 


E. by N. 








1 


7 


14 


E.N.E. 








1 


31 


7 


ditto 








1 


4i 


9 


ditto 








1 


6 


12 


E. by N. 


14° 


25' 




22 


101* 


203 









N.B. — The variation of 1 7° west was allowed on these bearings 
by compass. 

* Ba Faleme, rapid, rocky; water up to knees crossing it on horseback; 
went north three miles on its banks, December 20th. 



APPENDIX. 



279 



FIRST JOURNEY, CONTINUED. 



Days. 


Hours. 


Wiles. 


Bearings. 


Lat. 




7 


14 


E. by N. 






Sammee to Kayee* ......... 1 


u 2 


7 


ditto 






Tv qvpp tn Tppcpp 


7 1 

♦ 2 


15 


N F hv N 






Tppcpp fn ATprHno 


g 


12 


S F bv F 






ATprlinfi in Tnmhn 


6 


12 


ditto 








l i 


3 


E. by S. 


14o 


34' 




3 


16 


S.E. \ E. 






Snnmo tn TCanipp 


7 


14 


ditto 


14° 


10' 




7 


14 


Easterly 








7 


14 


E. by S. 


14° 


5' 




10 


20 


Easterly 








15 


30 


E. by N. 








8 


16 


Northerly 








6 


12 


ditto 






Toordah to Funningkeddy... 1 


7 


14 


N. by E. | 


E. 




Funningkeddy to Sembing . 1 


8 


16 


N. by E. 








6 


12 


NN.E. 


15 c 


5' 




120J 


241 








T 


oo 


1 










o 


12 


aDout ys.tii. oy 


E. 






/J 

o 


1 9 1 








Wassiboo to Satile, very quick 1 


1 9 


94. 


O.XLt. Uy 








8 


16 


E.S.E. 








9 


8 


E. by N. 








12 


24 


S.E. by E. 








14 


28 


E.S.E. 








14 


28 


ditto 






Giosora to Doolinkiaboo ... 1 


10 


20 


S.E. by E. 






Doolinkiaboo to the Lions ... 1 


10 


20 


ditto 






The Lions Village to Diganne, 














4 


8 


S. 








143 


286 









* Bating, beautiful but shallow river, runs with considerable force; banks, 
forty feet high ; bottom, sand and gravel ; crossed by" canoes ; about size Tweed 
at Melross. December. 

MEMORANDUM. 





3 da 


ys. 19 hours. 


38 


Samee to Benowm, journey back Deena . 


5 , 


30 „ 


60 




1 , 


10 „ 


20 


Jarra to Deena, Feb. 27th to 1st March . 


4 „ 


28 „ 


56 




4 , 


24 „ 


48 



280 APPENDIX. 

No variation is allowed on the bearings in this last list from 
Jarra to Sego. The exact time and bearing from Jarra to Waura 
(that is, hours,) is uncertain ; but there cannot be any material error 
as it is taken. 

Sego to Silla 6 days. 47 hours. 94 miles. 

But this was in the middle of the wet season, when travelling 
was almost impracticable, and when the distance made good could 
scarcely reach one and a quarter geographical miles per hour. About 
one-eighth also may be deducted from the distance on the general 
bearing in all the former part of the journey. 

Silla, by dead reckoning, was 13° 22' N. lat. Sego being in 
13° 4' by the same. 

Silla to Sego, returning 13 days. 

Sego to Bammakoo 11 days, say 110 miles. 

This in the wet season : — 

Bammakoo to Sibideloo 2 days, say 20 miles. 

Sibideloo to Kammalia 9£ „ 72 „ 

Silla to Sansanding 1% t , 15 „ 

N.B. — Jarra, said to be ten days' journey distant from Kammalia, 
bearing about N.W. 

FIRST JOURNEY KAMMALIA TO PISANIA. 

Days. Hours. Miles. 



Kammalia to Kongtakoro* 3 17 say 40 

Kongtakoro to River Wonda f 2 16£ 33 

River Commeissang to River Boki 3 28£ 51 

River Boki to Baring, at Manna % 2 15 30 



Total 10 77 154 

Bafing to Balee * | 3 3 'g 

Balee to Ba Faleme§ 3 8 16 



Total 18 124 248 



* Before reaching Kongtakoro, crossed the River Kokoro, a small stream such 
as would turn a mill. Had risen twenty feet in the rainy season. 

f Wonda, a small stream ; fifty to sixty miles from Wonda, crossed the Fur- 
komah as large as Wonda ; about sixteen miles west of Wonda, crossed the 
Commeissang. 

+ Bafing smooth and deep ; little current. Temporary bridge made by bending 
two trees together from opposite banks. Yearly swept away. 

§ Stream easily forded, only two feet deep ; flows rapidly over a bed of sand. 



APPENDIX. 



281 



It must be remarked that the preceding journey was made during 
the best of the dry season, and the travelling was sometimes quicker 
than customary, but the caravan was numerous. 

SECOND JOURNEY PISANIA TO BAMMAKOO, ETC. 

Days. Hours. Miles. 



Pisania to Medina, lat. 13° 49' 5 28£ 57 

Medina to Teelee Corra Banks, Gambia 4 15 \ 31 

Teelee Corra to Nerico, lat. 14° 4' 51" 3 16 32 

Nerico to Tembeco, lat. 13° 53' 2 h\ 11 

Tembeco to Mansassra, * lat. 13° 33' 3 15 30 

Mansassra to Badoo f 4 24 48 

Badoo to Faleme % 7 48 96 



Total 28 152J 305 



Ba Faleme to Ba Lee, lat. 13° 35' 8 42J 85 

Ba Lee to Bafing,§ lat. 13° 27' 5 27 54 

Bating to Ba Wonda || 5 32 64 

Ba Wonda to Kokoro,^[ lat. 14° 1' 2 13 26 

Ba Kokoro to Ba Woolima,** lat. 13° 41' 5 32 64 

Ba Woolima to Ba Woolli,ft lat. 13° 16' 9 49 98 

Ba Woolli to Bammakoo \\ 6 38 76 



Total 40 233i 467 



Regarding the former part of his journey, namely, from Pisania 
to the Ba Faleme, it is to be remarked that it was performed towards 
the close of the dry season ; and the body of men composing the 
party being considerable, their progress, under these peculiar circum- 

* Nikkidora, on banks of Gambia, is eigbt miles distant soutb. 
f Badoo ; Gambia, only four miles distant south. 

% Ba Faleme, a little discoloured by rain, June 8th. Current four knots per 
hour, f ame from S.E. sources, distant six days' journey. 

§ Bating, risen about two feet, June 26th ; navigable ; large river; current three 
knots per hour. 

The Ba Lee not sensibly swelled; stepped across from rock to rock without 
wetting the feet. 

|| Going two days rather to westward of north. 

\ Wonda cannot be called a large river — risen two feet July 4th ; shallow and 
rocky, called near its source Baqui. 

** Ba Woolima fifty to sixty feet broad, swelled 20 feet deep. 

ff This river the same as the Ba Woolima in magnitude. 

XX Eight hours climbing the ridge from Toniba — descended in three hours to 
Bammakoo. 

U 



2S2 



APPENDIX. 



stances, was slower than the customary rate of travelling in the same 
season. 

As regards the latter portion thereof, namely, that from the Ba 
Faleme to the Bammakoo, it was performed under dreadful rains, 
with rivers swelled to the highest pitch, with roads become almost 
impassable, and with their progress constantly interrupted by the 
soldiers., and almost every one of the party getting sick or dying 
daily. No stronger instance of the slowness of their progress and of 
the difficulties they had to contend with, can be adduced, than the 
following facts, taken from the journal kept by Park himself. On the 
27th of July they reached Bangazi, a short distance from the banks 
of the Ba Woolima, which they had crossed on the 19th, and from 
which point they beheld the Blue Mountains, past the eastern base 
of which the Niger swept his course ; yet although the distance was 
probably not more than 110 miles, they did not reach its banks until 
the evening of the 19th of August, a period of twenty-three days, 
during which time they were thirteen days actively engaged travelling. 
Under these circumstances very great deductions, as the latitudes given 
will prove, must be made from the course and distance made good. 
During the latter part the distance travelled could not exceed one and 
a quarter geographical mile per hour. Bammakoo is distant from 
Pisania, in a direct line, 450 geographical miles ; and the distance 
on the general bearings in the route which Park took, would be in- 
creased at least 100 miles; together 550 miles ; or, at the rate of two 
geographical miles per hour for the first part of the journey, (this 
however is too great, one mile and seven- eighths is the utmost that 
can be allowed,) and about one and one-eighth of a mile per hour for 
the latter part of the journey, or, on the average, one and a half 
geographical mile per hour for the whole journey ; while some por- 
tion of the time stated in hours should be deducted on account of 
stoppages, &c. 



CUBA — POPULATION, &c. 
When in the West Indies in 1833, a commercial friend and rela- 
tive connected with the trade of Cuba, Porto Rico, &c, presented 
me with a copy of Don Ramon de la Sagra's work, shortly referred 
to in my letter addressed to Lord John Russell, see p. 26. This 
work contains the returns of the population of Cuba to 1827 ; and 
also returns of the commerce of that island to 1829. Along with, 
and in the printed copy of the book mentioned, there was added, in 



APPENDIX. 



283 



manuscript, the subsequent returns of the slave population for 1829 
and 1830. I now have before me another copy of that work, which 
continues, in manuscript, the returns of the exports and imports, &c. 
for the different ports in Cuba, from 1850 to 1834; but there is, un- 
fortunately, no returns given of the population for these latter years. 

Years. 1774. 1792. 1817. 1827. 1828. 1830. 

Whites . . . 96,440 133,559 239,830 307,051 3l 1,051 

F kttoes U " j' 30 ' 847 54 > 152 114,058 106,496 195,000 
Slaves . . . 44,333 84,590 199,145 286,942 301,000 479,000 

Since 1829, the exports of Cuba have increased above 50 per 
cent., which gives, as a matter of course, a proportional increase 
to the number of the slave population, and also a proportional in- 
crease on the number annually imported. The increase of the 
population since the year mentioned, applies equally to the towns 
that it does to the country districts. The greatest increase in ex- 
portable articles is in sugar, coffee, molasses, tobacco, &c. &c. The 
internal consumption of Cuba, also, bears a large proportion to the 
export trade — greater there than in any other European colony. 
Take, for example — the export of sugar for 1827, was 5,878,924 
arrobas ; of Coffee, 2,001,583 arrobas ; but the production was 
sugar, 8,173,382 arrobas, (of which 8,091,837 arrobas was white, or 
clayed) ; and coffee, 2,883,528 arrobas. The slave population of 
Cuba, unless the export has been very considerable, and decrease 
by death enormous, can scarcely be less at this moment than 600,000. 
The importation of such articles as form almost exclusively their 
food, appears, from some of the latest annual returns, to have in- 
creased, since 1829, above 40 per cent. 

The decrease of the slave population of Cuba from natural causes, 
independent of any other, must necessarily be very great, arising 
from the great disproportion that there ever has been between the 
sexes. Thus, according to Don Ramon de la Sagra, p. 7, the 
numbers were — 

Male. Female. 
1774 ...... 28,771 15,562 

1792 47,424 37,166 

1817 124,324 74,821 

1827 183,290 103,652 

Of late years, it is well known that, in the numbers imported, 
the disproportion is still greater. To make up the great decrease 
arising from this cause, must necessarily occasion a greater importa- 
tion. The numbers enfranchised in Cuba are also very considerable. 



284 



APPENDIX. 



Thus, in 1774, the free coloured population were in number 30,847 ; 
in 1792, it was 54,152 ; in 1817, it was 114,058 ; in 1827, it was 
106,494 ; and in 1830, it was 195,000 ; of these numbers, the free 
blacks in 1828, were 49,000 ; and in 1830, they were 74,000. It 
s also stated, that there has been a very considerable exportation of 
slaves of late years from Cuba to the adjacent parts of the North 
American continent. 

The returns given in the different enumerations, are, after all, 
only an approximation to the truth ; the numbers are well known to 
be still greater. Thus, though the number of slaves, in 1817, is 
stated to be 199,145, it is said on other authority that the number 
was above 220,000. Accurate returns of the number imported for 
a series of years cannot be obtained ; in some years they are more, 
and others less, according to circumstances. Various scattered 
notices in Don Ramon's book, show us that it must have been very 
great. Thus, p. 10, we have the account as given by Humboldt, 
that, into the Havannah alone, from 1 791 to 1805, there were legally 
imported 91,211 ; and from 1806 to 1820, there were 131,829. At 
p. 258, we are told that the tax of 6 ps. imposed upon the African 
negroes brought into the port of the Havannah alone in 1817-1818, 
produced 194,017 ps., or 32,336 slaves yearly. At p. 234, we are 
likewise told, that the tax of 4 ps. imposed for the same purpose, for 
the same port in 1819, produced 160,177 ps. (40,044 slaves yearly.) 
At p. 148, we are informed that, of the imports (1811) into the same 
port, 28,361,883 ps., 7,356,800 ps. were for the value of negroes im- 
ported from Africa, which, at the customary rate of the custom's 
valuation, gives 52,000 slaves for that year. The number imported 
in 1816, was 17,733, their value 2,659,950 ps. ; and from 1815 
to 1819, four years, the number imported into the same port, (see 
same page), was 87,534. By the same scale (see p. 156), the imports 
were 14,900 in 1810; 13,482 in 1 81 1 ; 13,459 in 1812 ; 10,812 
in 1813; and 10,080 in 1814. These were what were called legal 
importations ; but besides thes.?, there were a great number illegally 
imported. Thus, into the eastern part of the island, the number 
illicitly imported from 1790 to 1820, was calculated to be 56,000, or 
at the rate of 3,000 yearly. This portion of the traffic, moreover, 
increased greatly during subsequent years. The Slave trade was 
carried on to an enormous extent during the years 1828, 1829, and 
1830. The Slave Commissioners, in reference to 1830 (see Par. Pap. 
1831), emphatically observe " the extraordinary number brought to 
market" into the Havannah, during that year. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



After all the sheets of the present work were thrown off, 
and the map proceeding to completion, the great kindness 
and attention of Mr. Coates placed in my hands the Journal 
of the Rev. Mr. Isenberg, from Zeilah and Tadjoura to 
Ancobar, just received in this country. The document is ex- 
ceedingly valuable. Besides the time occupied in travelling 
being corrected on the spot, the bearings in almost every day's 
journey are given ; and also the magnitude and course of the 
river Hawash, where the caravan with which Mr. Isenberg 
travelled crossed it. These important matters were wanting 
in the letters previously received. There is also a variety of 
interesting particulars given in the Journal regarding the 
physical features of the country through which they jour- 
neyed, which enables us to place the geography of this re- 
markable portion of Africa in a pretty clear and satisfactory 
light before the public. It, moreover, enables me to correct 
a material error regarding the course and termination of the 
river Hawash, as stated in the general body of the work, 
p. 243. The course of the river where Mr. Isenberg crossed 
it not having been given in his letters, and being anxious to 
adhere to the best maps previously known, the mistake alluded 
to was naturally committed. Except this, however, there is 
no material error in that portion of the work where this part 
of Africa is briefly noticed, and to which, from the Journal 
alluded to, the following more ample details are with pleasure 
and satisfaction added. 

Zeilah is a decayed town, containing only eight stone 
houses, and about 100 straw huts, together occupied by about 
800 inhabitants, mean and poor. Their food consists of 
maize, dates, milk, rice, and occasionally flesh. It may, 
however, shortly become an important place, from affording 
the readiest means of penetrating into a most interesting por- 
tion of Africa. The harbour is very bad, having many sand- 
banks, and several small islands, near it towards the north. 
The men of Zeilah dye their hair red: the women go un- 



286 



POSTSCRIPT. 



veiled, and wrap a piece of blue cloth round their heads. The 
native inhabitants are quite different from the Abyssinians 
and Arabs, and seem allied in language and features to the 
population of Shoa, and some of the Galla tribes. Zeilah is 
surrounded with walls, and has on the land side seven pieces 
of ordnance, pointed to the country of the Somaulis, with 
which people, dwelling to the S. and S. E., the town has a 
considerable intercourse ; but feuds and jealousies very fre- 
quently prevail between them. Zeilah, also, has a good deal 
of intercourse with Goror, and the districts adjoining, from 
which considerable quantities of coffee are brought, which is 
subsequently exported to Mocha. 

Regarding Tadjoura, Mr. Isenberg repeatedly and empha- 
tically states, that the Bay is much deeper than it is marked 
on any existing map; in other words, that it extends west- 
ward considerably around the base of the high lands which 
stretch in that direction from Cape Ras Bir. The pointed 
manner in which he states the fact, and from his having sailed 
from Zeilah to Tadjoura, at a good rate, with the wind at 
N. E., leads me to believe that Tadjoura is to the west of the 
meridian of Zeilah. This town is still smaller, poorer, and 
less populous than Zeilah, and contains only about 300 peo- 
ple. It is, however, the nearest road to get into the southern 
parts of Abyssinia. The country to the north and west is 
clearly high, hilly, and rugged, and is no doubt part of the base 
of the great elevated chain which extends westward and south 
westward from the Cape above mentioned, and the Straits of 
Babel Mandeb, to the sources of the Hawash, and some 
branches of the Bahr el Azreek, and of the Mugdosha river, 
and also the Zebee. Water is readily found : Tadjoura has a 
walled cistern for preserving it. Much game and sea-fowl are 
found near Sukla, to the north of Sagalle, and also leopards 
in the mountains adjoining that place. The inhabitants of 
Berbera send to Tadjoura for water, which appears to be 
readily found in its vicinity. 

Passing Sagalle, the coast, for a short distance, runs due 
west, when it becomes rugged, precipitous, and impassable. 
The traveller takes a course N. W. through a narrow defile, 
when he comes to a table-land called Wardeliham, considera- 



POSTSCRIPT. 



287 



bly elevated above the sea, as is proven by the air becoming 
comparatively cool and pure. From this table-land the road 
descends south, through a deep ravine, between mountains, to 
the west end of the Bay of Tadjoura, which here forms a 
second bay of considerable depth. From the west end of this 
bay, the road runs over a hill to the eminence and encamp- 
ment named Muja, situated to the north of the Salt Lake, 
elsewhere adverted to, and called Assal. Near Muja, the 
ground is full of chasms and gulfs, the remains of volcanoes. 
Mountains bound the lake on the S.E. and S. It is distant 
from the Bay of Tadjoura, in a direct line, about six miles. 
The lake appears to have at one time extended more to the 
south and the west than it now does ; but this appearance 
probably arose from Mr. Isenberg seeing it at the height of 
the dry season, when its magnitude may be considerably 
reduced. A dale, or valley, extends from the lake, first W., 
then S. W., through which the road runs to Guagnal ; around 
and to the east of which both verdure and water were found, 
even at that period of the year. Passing Guagnal, they came 
to the valley of Kallu, where there was plenty of water and 
vegetation. This place resembled the valley of Simhara, in 
Abyssinia, only the mountains round the former were not so 
high as those seen around the latter. Here the traveller is in 
the country of the Arab tribe, called Mudaites, the most 
powerful in these parts. Their chief residence, or capital, is 
called Aussa, where several Ulemas and learned Mahom- 
medans reside. This tribe spreads itself northward as far as 
Massowah. Aussa lies due west from Karanta, but the dis- 
tance between these places is, unfortunately, not stated. It 
cannot, however, be very great. 

The mountains south of Karanta are volcanic. In the vales 
are found grass, and brushwood, and also ashes. Arabdera 
is a vast elevated plain covered with volcanic stones. Mari 
is an high eminence, the air on which is so pure and fresh, 
that Mr. Isenberg felt rather refreshed than fatigued from the 
journey. Proceeding forwards a short distance, the descent 
to the valley S.W. is precipitous and dangerous. Between 
Ahuli and Lukki, is a plain running S.E. and N.W. Lukki 
is an eminence covered with volcanic stones, flat on the top, 



288 



POSTSCRIPT. 



as most mountains passed in the route also were. From 
Lukki, the prospect S.W. and W. was very extensive over a 
country chiefly level, but here and there studded with low 
hills. In the distance towards the west appeared several high 
hills, considered to be Mount Argobba and some of the hills of 
Shoa. The plain beyond Lukki was full of grass, and here 
the travellers saw a hyena. 

Here it may be proper to remark while the mountains 
to the N.W. side of the Hawash approach near the river, 
forming the S.E. barrier of the province of Angot; that on 
the S.E. side also another chain, of less elevation, forms the 
barrier, and gives the course to the river on the side mentioned. 
From this latter barrier, the ridges and valleys, it appears, 
extend from N.W. to S.E., to the boundary of the great plain 
or valley which is stated to run from the borders of the 
Hawash on the east of Ancobar towards Berbera. Beyond 
Barrudega there is a range of mountains extending S.E. and 
N.W. A short distance west of Barrudega is the village of Gaiel, 
the chief place of the Dannakil Warma, the chief of which was 
the uncle of Mohr Ali, their guide. From Hasnadera the 
mountains of Goror were seen to the S.W., "covered with 
clouds." The town of Goror was stated to be only two and 
a half days' journey distant. The Alia Gallas had expelled 
the father of the guide from Errur, or Hurrur. From this it 
would appear, that Goror and Errur are different places. 
From Kudaite the mountains of Baaden and Aialu, the 
latter of considerable height, were distinctly seen to the N.W. 
On the latter mountains a bloody battle had been fought in 
the preceding year, between the Mudaites and the W'arma tribe, 
in which the latter were defeated. S.W. of Kudaite lay the 
mountain of Gebel Ahmar at no great distance, and more distant 
the mountains of the Alia Galla, between which and Kudaite 
lies a vast plain, which was stated to extend from the banks or 
borders of the Hawash, as far as Berbera. Kudaite is the last 
place in that quarter belonging to the Dannakil Warma tribe. 

A few miles beyond Kumi, the travellers came to a deserted 
village, between which spot and Gamessa, they saw to their 
left, and at a short distance, Mount Afraba, peopled by 
Issa Gallas, which tribe league themselves with the Mudaites 



postscript; 



289 



against the Dannakil Warma. To the right of the spot 
mentioned they saw distinctly the high land of Shoa and Effat. 
At Little Mulloo they found the grass in the level ground so 
high, that it rose above the head of a man on horseback, which 
indicates a good soil. At a distance on the plain they per- 
ceived a large fire. On making inquiries how it was pro- 
duced, they were answered that it came by chance, which 
would indicate that it might proceed from some volcanic 
action ; or it might have proceeded from accident, owing to the 
burning of grass and brushwood, which takes place in many 
parts of Africa towards the close of the dry season. From an 
eminence beyond Galakdiggi, they saw very clearly the 
mountains of Shoa. As they approached the Hawash, they 
crossed a considerable ridge of hills, which skirt the eastern 
side of the valley of the Hawash, and descending this ridge 
they came to Dobhille. Proceeding thence over the fine plain 
covered with trees, they came to the river Hawash, which 
they crossed on the 29th of May, at the close of the dry 
season. They found the stream 60 feet broad; from two to 
four feet deep; and the banks from 15 to 20 feet high. The 
course thence through the plain of the Hawash, which is of 
considerable breadth, is first N., and then N.E. to Aussa, near 
which it spreads itself into a large lake situated in avast plain, 
where it terminates, being carried off by evaporation or sub- 
terranean passages, but more probably by the former. The 
waters of this lake are stated to be putrid, and to emit an offen- 
sive smell, and to have a disagreeable taste, which latter may 
proceed from some mephitic quality, and the former from swamps 
and marshes around its immediate shores. The magnitude of 
the Hawash at the point where the travellers crossed the stream, 
shows that the source cannot be far distant to the SS.W., while 
the lake wherein it terminates may be placed at the distance 
of TO miles W.S.W. of Tadjoura. The right bank of the 
Hawash below the point where Mr. Isenberg crossed it, is in 
the lower part of its course inhabited by the Mudaites tribe, 
and the left bank by the Orgubbassin tribe, and higher up and 
towards the point where crossed, the right bank of the river is 
inhabited by the Dannakil Warma ; south of them and of the 
route, the Abarras dwell, and still further south the AllaGallas. 



290 



POSTSCRIPT. 



' The village or town of Mulkukuji is situated on the left 
bank of the river, near which is a small lake, wherein 
there were many crocodiles and hippopotami. This region 
is very prolific for a naturalist. Beyond this there is another 
lake, the waters of which are of a disagreeable taste, and 
have a sulphureous smell, but which are of a remarkable 
cleansing quality, and are therefore much used for washing 
clothes. West of this, and a little to the east of Assabobe, is 
another and still larger lake, called La Adu, or far distant 
ivater, in which there are many hippopotami. The district is 
called Dofar, and has numerous forests abounding with game 
and a great variety of birds, which by their warblings rendered 
the roads lively. Beyond Akonti they crossed the fine valley 
of Kokai, abounding with lofty trees, excellent water, abun- 
dance of cattle, and a great variety of birds ; and next, crossing 
several hills, the prominences of the high lands of Abyssinia, 
which extend from the south far northward, they reached 
Dinomali, the frontier station of Shoa, where revenue officers 
are stationed, and immediately adjoining which is the village 
of Fary, or Ferri, where the travellers rested. 

From Tadjoura, the route of Mr. Isenberg and his com- 
panions lay through a country constantly rising, and studded with 
minor hills, eminences, and ranges ; but still none of these were 
of any very great elevation. To the south, and to the west, in 
the distance, and before approaching the Hawash, mountains 
were seen on both hands which clearly had a great elevation. 
In the district passed through, from the sea to the Hawash, 
there was, with the exception of a few places, no spot where 
water was not readily found, even at that period of the year 
when every thing is dried up to the very utmost. In many places 
also the verdure and the appearance of the surface of the country 
indicated a climate favourable to vegetation, and a soil of a pro- 
ductive quality. Hyenas, leopards, and elephants, were numer- 
ous from the lowest part of the route forwards ; beasts of prey 
which are never found in deserts or utterly barren countries 
and districts. To the westward of Ahuli, the air, from the 
great elevation' of the country, became fresh and cool. The 
journeys, moreover, were in general performed very early in 
the morning, or else late in the afternoon, which enabled the 



POSTSCRIPT. 



291 



travellers to make greater progress, in any given period of 
time, than they could have done if they had travelled during 
the extreme heat of the day, and in African districts of a low 
level. 

From Fary, or Ferri, Mr. Isenberg and his companions 
advanced on their way to Ancobar, the capital of Shoa. 
Leaving Ferri, they crossed a few promontories and valleys, 
and also first the small river Hatshani, and secondly the river 
Metka Zebdu, when they commenced ascending the high 
land of Shoa. Soon after, they reached a village named 
Aliu Amba, situated on the top of a steep rock, where they 
met the first christian governor whom they had seen in that 
distant portion of Africa. From the village mentioned, they 
proceeded forward to Ancobar, which is built on the summit 
of a high conical hill, from whence they had an extensive 
and commanding prospect — to the west, Shoa, to a great 
distance ; and to the east, the Hawash and the valley through 
which they had travelled. The king's house stands in the 
upper or the highest part of the town, and is built of stone 
and mortar, with a thatched roof. The other houses are 
chiefly built of wood, with thatched roofs, generally surrounded 
with a garden, and disposed around the cone in a spiral form. 
" The situation, the rich vegetation in a cool vernal, or almost 
autumnal, atmosphere," says Mr. Isenberg, " almost put us 
in an ecstasy." The king being at Anpollalla, they proceeded 
forwards to meet him, passing through only a part of Ancobar. 
They marched on stony roads, and on the side of some 
mountains. Crossing an elevated valley, through which a 
crystal rivulet purled, which was to set a mill in motion, 
then erecting by a Greek mechanic named Demetrius, " they 
breathed," says Mr. Isenberg, " alpine air, and drank alpine 
water." They next ascended another high mountain, abounding 
with camomile, penny-royal, and numerous alpine plants. 
The top of the mountain was covered with barley fields, then 
(June 8th) almost ready for the harvest. The thermometer, 
during the night, could not have exceeded 40°, which, in that 
parallel of latitude, and in the middle of the northern summer, 
gives a great elevation. They slept at a small village called 
Metakui, and next day proceeded westward over an undulating 



292 



POSTSCRIPT. 



table-land, when, after a few hours' journey, they reached the 
village of Islam Amba, where they met the king of Shoa. 

After protracting very carefully the route which Mr. Isenberg 
took from Tadjoura to Ancobar and Anpollalla, from the time 
and bearings given, and after making the allowances in 
general, which he allows in particular instances, and after 
giving the subject the most attentive consideration, Ancobar is 
placed in 8° 54' N. lat. and 39° 17' E. long. The positions of 
other places will be found by an inspection of the map. 

The great elevation of Ancobar has already been adverted 
to, and which is further proved by the verdure and fertility of 
the country at this period of the year (June 8th), the very 
close of the dry season, and to which period no rain, or at 
least no rain of any consequence, had fallen. Two months 
before this period, however, it is well known that the rains 
commence in the very high lands of Abyssinia, 4° more to the 
north. These circumstances, here adverted to, go to prove in a 
satisfactory manner, the much greater, the very great elevation 
of the more interior parts of Africa, wdiere the chief branches 
of the Bahr el Abiad take their rise, and around which the rains 
certainly commence about the end of March. The fact also 
mentioned by Mr. Isenberg, namely, that Zeilah is supplied 
with coffee from Goror, proves the fertility and the cultivation 
of the soil in that district, two things which could not be found 
where water is wanting. Therefore the maps by the late 
Mr. Arrowsmith, which represent a river running east from the 
quarter alluded to, and sinking or disappearing (probably from 
evaporation) to the west of Berbera, may fairly be taken to be 
correct. The river in question, no doubt, springs from the 
north side of the Hurrur and Alia Galla mountains, and, tra- 
versing the great plain which Mr. Isenberg says runs on the 
north side of these mountains eastward from the borders of 
the Haw r ash to Berbera, finally disappears in the volcanic 
country to the westward of the latter place. 

The country from the sea coast at Zeilah and Tadjoura to 
Shoa is inhabited by the following Arab tribes : the Mudaites ; 
the Dabanik Warma ; the Ado Alii, and the Brucharts. The 
two first are the most powerful of the whole. The Mudaites 
are, however, more numerous and powerful than the Warma. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



293 



The Shohas and the Dankali are much the same in language, 
and figure, and features, but the latter are all rigid Mahom- 
medans. Adaiel is a general Arabic name, used to denote all 
the Dankali tribes in this portion of Africa. Hence the name 
Adel was given, not only to the portion of Africa under our 
immediate consideration, but to a large extent of country 
stretching south to the Indian Ocean about Doaro. The 
following brief account of the character and manners of the 
people in the neighbourhood of Little Marha, extracted 
from Mr. Isenberg's Journal, may suffice for all the rest : — 

" A chief occupation of the Dankils, particularly of the women, 
more especially when they travel, is the plaiting of mats and baskets 
for salt and corn, from the branches of the palm tree. The women 
are the most industrious. They dress very slovenly, and frequently 
wear nothing but a piece of cloth, of a grey, blue, or variegated 
colour, tied round their hips, reaching down to the knees, sometimes 
bound round with a fancifully wrought leathern belt. Notwith- 
standing, they are vain, and fond of wearing bracelets and foot orna- 
ments, ear and nose-rings, coral strings on their neck, &c." 

The Slave Trade is at present carried on to a considerable 
extent throughout all the districts of this portion of Africa. 
Great jealousy, and great fears also, are entertained by the 
population of any communications with the English, who are 
generally understood to have in view the suppression, not 
merely of the Slave Trade, but of personal slavery also. It is 
clear, from these feelings being thus spread and entertained, 
that great caution will for a time be necessary in order to secure 
a quiet and permanent footing in Eastern Africa. A premature 
step or word may throw back the advance of a friendly inter- 
course and of proper ideas and principles to a very distant 
period. 

At Anpollalla,* (not Angollalla, as written p. 243,) Mr. 
Isenberg and his companions met the king of Shoa, the chris- 
tian sovereign of a christian people, whose tenets are those 
of the Alexandrian church, but greatly corrupted from the 
principles professed by that church in former times, owing 

* Mr. Isenberg writes this name " Anpollalla;" Mr. Kraaf writes it "Angollalla." 



294, 



POSTSCRIPT, 



to their long separation from the christian world, and to the 
inroads of their barbarous pagan neighbours. By this sove- 
reign they were received and welcomed with the greatest 
respect, attention, and cordiality. He made particular in- 
quiries of them about their journey and their object, and was 
especially inquisitive regarding geographical knowledge and 
information. This, of itself, would augur a mind of a superior 
order, and under the protection of such a sovereign it is incal- 
culable what good such excellent men may do in Africa. So 
pleased have they been with their reception, and prospects for 
preaching the gospel in that portion of Africa, that Mr. Isen- 
berg has left his colleague, Mr. Kraaf, at Ancobar, and is on 
his way to Europe to solicit from the Church Missionary 
Society, and through them I hope this christian country, aid 
to procure an additional number of labourers for that interest- 
ing field. They will not — they cannot solicit in vain. The 
judicious conduct and proceedings of the two missionaries 
already sent show that their instructions have been judicious, 
and the selection made by the Society equally so. May every 
success attend them. Theirs is the noblest of all causes, and 
the noblest and the highest pursuit in which any human being 
can be engaged. The world is interested in their future labours 
and future proceedings. These will render more essential 
service to Africa, and confer on her more lasting benefits, than 
the exertions of the whole navy of England, stationed round 
her coasts for the purpose of catching a few straggling slave- 
traders, ever has done, or ever can do. The former will teach 
Africans those christian principles, and that industry and 
honesty, which will go to increase her real wealth, security, and 
independence, and which will farther go to tear up at the roots 
not merely an external and internal Slave Trade, but also in- 
ternal slavery, war, bloodshed, and oppression, in that portion 
of Africa, as indeed wherever real Christianity spreads itself and 
fixes itself in any portion of Africa, it will always do. It is a 
pleasing reflection to think that through a route never before at- 
tempted by any European, a christian population in that distant 
and once very important, and still interesting, portion of Africa, 
can be so soon reached by Christians from Europe, and that the 
road in question is now safe, and comparatively free from 



POSTSCRIPT. 



295 



danger. The impression made will, it is most earnestly 
hoped, be steadily and energetically followed up by the Church 
Missionary Society; and if the people of England, and the 
government of England, are wise and prudent; and if both 
wish, as I believe both really wish, to do permanent good to 
Africa ; let them cordially unite, and support the efforts of the 
Society in question with their strength, means, power, and 
influence, as may be necessary. 

Besides the above cheering prospect for the spread of true 
christian knowledge and principles in Eastern Africa, the infor- 
mation given by Mr. Isenberg shows that a considerable field 
for commercial enterprise may be opened up to the British 
merchant in this same quarter. The countries to the west of 
Ancobar are populous, with some industry and cultivation. 
Gold is found in considerable quantities in all the districts 
round the sources of the various rivers in the quarter alluded 
to. The coffee received from Mocha has long been known for 
its superior quality, although it is but little, if at all, known, 
that a considerable portion of the quantity which is exported 
from that place is received from the interior portions of Africa, 
at present under consideration. The calcareous ridges in the 
mountains of Hurrur, those around the sources of the Zebee 
and the Habahia, &c. are the most proper places for the growth 
of coffee of the finest quality, exactly as we find superior 
descriptions of that valuable article produced most freely on the 
calcareous ridges of Jamaica, Cuba, Porto Rico, and Hayti. 

The journal of Mr. Isenberg gives us no specific intelligence 
of any other states or places except those parts in his imme- 
diate route. The journal of Mr. Kraaf, however, supplies, to 
a great extent, this deficiency. By the kindness and attention 
of Mr. Coates, this journal was put into my hands at the 
moment the preceding pages were about to be sent to the 
press. Mr. Kraaf takes up the narrative of occurrences and 
information from the 7th of June, the time when Mr. Isen- 
berg's journal closes, till the 2d of October following. From 
this journal the following important geographical information 
is selected, and put in a shape as condensed and clear as 
possible. 

Aliu Amba is about six miles to the east of Ancobar. Effat 



296 



POSTSCRIPT. 



is divided into Upper and Lower Effat. Alia Amba is in 
Lower Effat ; and Muckfood (called Marfood in our maps) 
belongs to the upper district. The latter portion of Effat has 
a great elevation, compared to Aliu Amba, and its neigh- 
bourhood. Argobba is situated to the north of Ancobar, and 
about due west from Lukki. The capital city is named 
Aincha, situated upon the river Tshaffa, which comes from 
the westward, and bending its course N. E., joins the Hawash 
in the country of Adel. The river mentioned, separates Shoa 
from the northern Gallas. The country of Argobba is ruled 
by a governor, named Bekoo, and is dependent upon Gondar. 
In the neighbourhood of this district is another river, called 
the Berkona, which is stated, also, to flow to the Hawash, 
having, by some accounts, first formed a junction with the 
Tshaffa. The large lake, called Tehuladera, is eight days' 
journey north of Ancobar. In it is a considerable island, 
called Haig, or Haik, containing a monastery, and about 100 
houses, inhabited by christian monks. It is dependent upon 
the chief of Gondar. The people in the neighbourhood are 
called Deblera. Mount Argobba appears to be from seventy 
to eighty miles to the north of Ancobar, and to the E. or 
E. S. E. of Lake Tehuladera. 

The Chatka mountain extends to the west from Ancobar, 
which city appears to be built on the eastern extremity of the 
ridge. One mile from Ancobar, and on the bank of the river 
Airara, at the foot of the mountain mentioned, the market of 
Ancobar is held every Saturday. The village of Mitatet is 
situated on the top of Mount Chatka, and about five miles 
west of Ancobar, on the road to Dobra Berhan. The popu- 
lation of these parts live together with the domestic animals 
in one abode, much, it would appear, after the manner that 
we find the population in some districts of Ireland living at 
this day. Dobra Berhan is a place where a great market is 
regularly held every week. It is situated about twenty to 
twenty-five miles W., or rather W. S. W. of Ancobar. From 
this place the best and greatest number of horses and mules 
are brought. A good mule at Ancobar costs ten to twelve 
dollars, and a good horse from eight to nine dollars. Gold is 
nine dollars per ounce in southern Abyssinia. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



297 



From Islam Amba to Anpollalla, the way is over a plain, 
intersected by hills and rivulets. The most distinguished river 
crossed is that named Beresa, which, during the rains, is a 
considerable stream. It rises in the Galla country, and runs 
first to the N. E., then N. W. and next to the W., in the neigh- 
bourhood of Tegulet, the ancient capital of Shoa, where it 
forms several cataracts, from sixty to seventy feet in height. In 
every direction many villages were seen, indicating a large 
population, arising, no doubt, from the peace and security 
from civil war and discord which the people of Shoa enjoyed. 
Amongst the villages mentioned in the neighbourhood of 
Anpollalla, were Tsherkos to the W., Tophis to the N., 
Daletska to the N. E., &c. Tegulet, the ancient capital of 
Shoa, now almost in ruins, stood on the top of a steep moun- 
tain, situated on the south side of the river Daletska, which 
here runs in a deep dale between two mountains. The place, 
it appears, is about half a day's journey E. S. E. from Dobra 
Berhan. Mr. Kraaf says his road to it from Dobra Berhan 
lay in an eastern direction. The site of Tegulet is now occu- 
pied by a village called Etake. The river Tshalsha, which 
separates Shoa from the territory of the Galla in that direction, 
passes about four miles from Anpollalla. On this river is 
situated the village of Tsherkos, already mentioned. Mr. 
Kraaf saw in it one cataract seventy feet in height. The Tshal- 
sha runs in a deep dale, between mountains. Both it and the 
Beresa were stated to run to the Nile. This is a curious and 
important fact, as it brings to our knowledge the point where 
the waters take different directions, from one of those numerous 
great culminating points which lie in the northern equatorial 
regions of Africa. 

Bulga is the capital of Fattigar, a considerable district on 
the southern frontier of Shoa. The capital is distant from 
Ancobar about one and a half day's journey. A considerable 
river, named Kassam, runs in the neighbourhood of Bulga, 
and flows into the Hawash. In the route between Ancobar 
and the country of Garague, or Garagua, three rivers, the 
Akake, the Gurasha, and the Furri, are crossed before reach- 
ing the Hawash. The governor of Bulga resides in a town, 



298 



POSTSCRIPT. 



called Morfata. Fattigar has many mountains, some of which 
are of great height. In the neighbourhood of Bulga there is 
Mount Magusas, very high; another called Tantalle, and another 
Woute. From Bulga to Garague, is a journey of from five to 
eight days, through a country inhabited by ten tribes of the 
Galla. The fifth tribe in order on the route is the Abboo ; 
in the district belonging to which the Hawash is crossed. 
Having crossed the river, the traveller comes, after several 
days' journey, to a large lake, called Suai, in which there is 
an island, peopled by monks. Five rivers run into this lake. 
In the country of the Abboo, there is one lake called Killole, 
and another called Arsud. This country of Abboo is governed 
by two chiefs, called, the one Kerroo, and the other Aminoo. 
The former resides in Waleko ; both are tributary to Shoa. 
In Garague the inhabitants are chiefly Christians, together 
with some Mahommedans, and some heathens. The 
current money in Garague is salt; dollars do not pass. 
Knives, scissars, needles, &c. are well received, Much coffee 
and wine are produced in Garague. Tasma honey, (of the most 
precious kind) is found in the province of Abamada. Their 
houses are better in Garague than in Shoa. There are thirty- 
nine monasteries in this country. In the neighbourhood of 
Garague is the country of Sinshero, where there are a great 
many Christians and Mahommedans. The Galla tribes beyond 
Garague are — the Maroko ; the Lake ; the Lani ; the Damo ; 
and the Endegan. Eight days' journey beyond the country 
of Sinshero is the country of Mager, the king of which is 
called Degaie. He is represented to be a very powerful 
monarch. There is another country, called Kootshassi, in the 
neighbourhood of Garague. In that country, which is sur- 
rounded by Gallas on every side, all the inhabitants are 
Christians. 

The places inhabited by Christians in Garague are : — 
Aimelellelle ; Narreno ; Belantshooboo ; Manes ; Malekdamo ; 
Wogoram; Buijana ; Jondamo ; Dalshi; Fettane ; Aretshat; 
Heberrer ; Arogamane ; Dobi ; Fawilui ; Fatabona ; Sera ; San- 
gania ; Mohor. The places where Someai, or heathens, reside, 
are : — Mascan ; Aborrat ; Fakedar ; Warub ; Mars ; Sabolas ; 



POSTSCRIPT. 



299 



Faderek; Wamnan ; Attakiro; Duhahes; Endagach ; Mas- 
mas; Magar; Ener ; Asha; Tshaka ; Wollane. The dis- 
tinguishing mountains in Garague are : — Karra ; Koffalite ; 
Jafersa; Attakaf ; Make; Feru ; Engedokoffo; Bodegabab ; 
Denekoli ; Enokater ; Sert. The great rivers are : — the Wiser, 
in the district of Damo ; the Dersat ; the Asas; the Sherbany ; 
the Meke ; and the Famarakodio. Most of these rivers run 
into the lake Suai, certainly the Zawajah of the present 
maps. 

The Galla tribes, in their religious views, are Pagans of the 
lowest grade. Amongst them, there are no ministers of 
religion of any description. They worship a superior being 
under the name of Waake. This is the Ouack of Ouare, (the 
Galla mentioned, p. 253), the deity which is worshipped by the 
Gallas on the banks of the Habahia ; and the account here 
given by Mr. Kraaf bears out, so far, the truth of Ouare's 
narrative. The Gallas dislike the Christian religion, because, 
they say, the people of Shoa who profess it, are, ? notwithstanding, 
no better than themselves. 

Simaha is not the name of a country ; but a word used to 
designate Christians, who are numerous in the countries be- 
tween Shoa and Enarea. The king of Shoa is on friendly 
terms with the chief of Damot. From Gondar to Bosso on 
the Nile, is said to be ten days' journey ; and from Bosso to 
Enarea is fifteen days' journey. Coffee is brought from 
Kaffa, and civet from Enarea. Shells, corals, and pieces of 
silk, are the current money in these places. Enarea is beyond 
the country of Adrina. 

The king of Shoa's name is Sahala Salassie. He is only 
thirty-nine years old. 1 He has reigned twenty-seven years, 
having succeeded to the throne when he was only twelve years 
of age. He has conquered an extent of country equal to 
thirty times the original size of Shoa. Nine Galla tribes are 
subject to him. Mr. Kraaf had obtained the names of forty 
different tribes of the Gallas who inhabit the surrounding 
portions of Africa. The following are the names of some of 
them, and the positions in which they live, as relative to 
Ancobar and other places : — Abedtshoo, (separated from Shoa, 



300 



POSTSCRIPT. 



near Anpollalla, by the river Tshalsha), Adai, Soddo, Abboo, 
Lebaa, Tshedda, Assata. Quolan, Metta, and Maitsba, all 
subject to the king of Shoa. The tribes Belsho and Ferrer, 
in the south, are not subject to him. To the north and east 
of Shoa, are the following tribes: — Dane, Wollo, Wara, GafFra, 
Wolshate, Sako, Battoko, Tehulavera, Jelle, Aptsallo, Assabo, 
Layagora, Gama, Sagambo, Kallota, Jetshoo, Ittoo, Karaiu, 
Arresi, Tsherker ; the last four tribes are on the east of Shoa. 
The tribes on the road from Ancobar to Garague, are : — 
Ferrer, Roggi, Endote, Adai, Abba, Woretshersa, Tshedda, 
Abado, Soddo, Liban, and Gumbetshoo. The tribes to the 
south of Garague, are : — Wadast, Mae, Abboso, Abosetsho, 
Masso, Lellon, Tmer, Fallo, Banojo, Falaadoso, and Mirrer. 

The people of Shoa and other countries adjoining, which 
profess to be Christians, reckon in their chronology 5,500 years 
before Christ ; some Abyssinians reckon 7,332 since the crea- 
tion. The male children of the king are kept in prison at 
Quantsho, in the province of Shoa, to the east, in the neigh- 
bourhood of the country of Adel. As soon as the king is 
dead, the eldest son is taken out of the prison, and introduced 
as king by the Shalafra Agassri, the first door-keeper, whose 
duty it is to crown the king. Then, the new king puts his 
brethren in prison, lest, being left at liberty, they should raise 
disturbances in the kingdom. 

Amongst the Galla tribes to the south of Garague, is one 
named Damo, through the district belonging to which a con- 
siderable river named the Wiser, runs. From the position 
which Mr. Kraaf gives to this tribe, and considering that, 
of the six rivers which he enumerates as belonging to Garague, 
" most of these," or five, are said to run into Lake Suai ; the 
remaining one, or the Wiser, no doubt flows from it southward, 
forming the great western branch of the river which enters the 
sea near Mugdosha. This is the more certain, first, because 
the magnitude of the Hawash, to the eastward of Ancobar, 
is so small, that the waters collected in Lake Suai cannot 
join it from the southward. Secondly, because Lake Suai 
is on the northern side of the country of Garague ; and 
thirdly, because the tribe of Damo is the fourth in order 



POSTSCRIPT. 



SOI 



south of Garague, through which tribe the Wiser, particu- 
larly alluded to, certainly flows. Sinshero, stated to be in the 
neighbourhood of Garague, is certainly the Gingiro of our 
present maps. 

The new year of the people of Shoa commences on the 
fourth of September. A very considerable portion of their 
time is occupied in religious and superstitious fasts. Several 
of their rites, ceremonies, and customs, are clearly derived 
from the ancient Hebrew church. They count their leap-year 
by the names of the four evangelists, adding five days to each 
of the three first, but six days to the last, (the fourth, or that 
named after St. John), which addition is called Pagmie. They 
believe in evil spirits, which they call Sarotsh, eighty-eight in 
number, who are divided into two equal bands, under the 
command of different leaders. These spirits, they believe, 
inflict upon men sickness, and other evils ; and to deprecate 
their wrath, they sacrifice at times a red hen, which they 
afterwards eat, reserving the brain for the person who per- 
formed the most material part of the ceremony. They also 
smoke, sing, and move their whole body in strange gesticula- 
tions, in order to frighten the evil spirit away from them. 

The government of Shoa is an absolute despotism. The 
king claims every thing, holds a monopoly of every thing, and 
takes the tenth of every thing. The bridge he caused to be 
constructed over the river Beresa, he claims as exclusively his 
own, and will not permit any one to pass across it, but himself 
and his favourites. Justice is administered in an open space, 
under four judges, but in the presence of the king, who, if he 
disapproves of the judgment given by the judges, decides the 
case according to his Twn judgment. The religion of the 
population of Shoa is a strange compound of the Christianity, 
debased, of the Alexandrian church, Judaism, Mahommedan- 
ism, and Paganism. A little to the north of Shoa, Mr. Kraaf 
tells us, there dwells an isolated sect of Jew T s. The men and 
the women live in separate houses. He gives us also a list of 
thirty-six books, in the Amharic and Ethiopic languages, 
chiefly relating to religious subjects. In the church of St. 
George, there are seventy books belonging to it. Mr. 



302 



POSTSCRIPT. 



Kraaf also gives us many particulars regarding their theology, 
their customs, and their superstitions, which are very curious 
and very strange, but which are more the province of the 
theologian than the geographer. Alluding to geography, 
Mr. Kraaf states, from the king to the peasant, in Shoa, and 
amongst travellers who came there from other parts of the 
country, that every one took a great interest in geographical 
subjects, and were most anxious to receive instruction on 
every point relating to this science. The king was particularly 
inquisitive about the knowledge and works possessed by 
Europeans, and expressed the greatest astonishment when he 
was told about our railroads, steamers, ships, &c. &c. 

Adverting to steam, the journal of Mr. Kraaf is a remark- 
able proof of the wonders it is working, and is certain yet 
further to work in this world. The journal alluded to brings 
with it a letter, dated Ancobar, on the 5th November last, 
and which reached London on the 9th March!! Haif a 
century ago it might have taken years to complete the com- 
munication. 

The rains commenced at Ancobar on the 21st of June, and 
continued strong through July and August. They compara- 
tively ceased, it would appear, towards the middle of August, 
and during the early days of September. Frornthe 20th to the 
30th of that month, they became so violent, that Mr. Kraaf 
remarks, " The rainy season seems to have come again." 
This, however, is the regular course of the seasons within the 
Northern Tropic, more especially in the more southern portion 
thereof, and particularly in continental countries such as Africa. 

Mr. Kraaf intended to proceed to Garague in December 
last, and to remain there for three or four months. We may, 
therefore, shortly expect to hear some interesting intelligence 
from him regarding that portion of Africa. He states, that 
Mr. D'Abadie was last autumn with the chief of Damot. 

While engaged in correcting the last pages of the work, an 
opportunity was afforded me of perusing the journal of the 
late Mr. Davidson, who was treacherously murdered in the 
month of November, 1836, a few days' journey to the south 
of Tatta, when attempting to cross the desert from Wednun 



POSTSCRIPT. 



303 



to Timbuctoo. From that journal, the following important 
particulars are gleaned regarding the geography of that part of 
Africa adjoining Wednun, which has been quite wrongly deline- 
ated in all the maps hitherto constructed. Wednun is about 
twenty-five miles from the sea, and the mouth of a river called 
the Assaka, formed by the junction of two rivers, first the 
Boukoukmar, and second, the great Sayad, to the S.W. of 
Wednun. This river passes to the south of the town men- 
tioned. When full, they roll a fine body of water to the sea ; 
they take their rise in the mountains of Suse ; the former to the 
north, and the latter to the N.E. of Sok Assa. The river Drah, 
or Draha, which rises in Tafilet, is not lost in the desert, as has 
hitherto been supposed, but passing to the south-westward, 
near Tatta and Akka, finds its waytothe Atlantic, which it enters 
about thirty-two miles to the S.W. of Cape Nun. Cultivation , » 

is general on its northern bank, and also over a considerable 
strip on its southern bank. A ridge of hills, called Ab-el- Assel, 
stretches from the sea on the north side of the Draha. The 
coast to the north of the Draha is bluff and rocky, but to the 
south, it has sand hills and shallow water. Another ridge of 
hills skirts the south bank of the Assaka, near the sea. The 
country through which the Draha flows is represented to be 
populous, and tolerably well cultivated, producing immense 
quantities of oil, wax, hides, and almonds, and is inhabited by the 
Arab tribes of Errub, Draha, Maraibait, Tajacanth, and 
Ergebat. The mountains of Lower Suse, a branch of the Atlas 
chain, approach near Wednun, and are crossed in the road from 
Tesereet to that place. Being without the limits of the 
tropical rains, all the rivers mentioned were nearly dry when 
Mr. Davidson saw them in the month of September, proceed- 
ing, as in the case of other African rivers, from evaporation. 
Sok Assa is one day's journey from Wednun; Akka, four days, 
and Tatta, five days. 



THE END. 



LONDON : 

RICHARD CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. 



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